The Journal of Parliamentary Information VOLUME LXIII NO. 2 JUNE 2017

LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI CBS Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd. 24, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi-2 EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor : Anoop Mishra Secretary-General Lok Sabha

Associate Editors : Dr. D. Bhalla Secretary Lok Sabha Secretariat Atul Kaushik Additional Secretary Lok Sabha Secretariat Abhijit Kumar Joint Secretary Lok Sabha Secretariat Dr. R. N. Das Director Lok Sabha Secretariat

Assistant Editors : Babu Lal Naik Additional Director Lok Sabha Secretariat H. Soikholian Simte Joint Director Lok Sabha Secretariat

© Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi Contents iii

THE JOURNAL OF PARLIAMENTARY INFORMATION

VOLUME LXIII NO. 2 JUNE 2017

CONTENTS

PAGE

EDITORIAL NOTE 95

ADDRESSES Address by the President to Parliament 97

Address by the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan at the South Asian Speakers’ Summit, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 111

DECLARATION OF SOUTH ASIAN SPEAKERS’ SUMMIT ON ‘ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS’ 117

ARTICLE South Asian Speakers’ Summit on ‘Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’, Indore, 18-20 February 2017 - By Shri Anoop Mishra 119

PARLIAMENTARY EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES Conferences and Symposia 130 Birth Anniversaries of National Leaders 132

Exchange of Parliamentary Delegations 134 Parliament Museum 134 Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training 134

PROCEDURAL MATTERS 139

PARLIAMENTARY AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS 141

SESSIONAL REVIEW

Lok Sabha 146 Rajya Sabha 172 State Legislatures 201 iv The Journal of Parliamentary Information

RECENT LITERATURE OF PARLIAMENTARY INTEREST 206

APPENDICES I. Statement showing the work transacted during the Eleventh Session of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha 212

II. Statement showing the work transacted during the 242nd Session of the Rajya Sabha 216 III. Statement showing the activities of the Legislatures of the States and Union Territories during the period 1 January to 31 March 2017 217 IV. List of Bills passed by the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President during the period 1 January to 31 March 2017 223

V. List of Bills passed by the Legislatures of the States and the Union Territories during the period 1 January to 31 March 2017 224 VI. Ordinances promulgated by the Union and State Governments during the period 1 January to 31 March 2017 233 VII. Party Position in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the Legislatures of the States and the Union Territories 236 Editorial Note 95

EDITORIAL NOTE

The Constitution of India under Article 87 (1) provides for an Address by the President to members of both Houses of Parliament assembled together at the commencement of the first session after General Election to the House of the People and at the commencement of the first session of each year. The President’s Address is a statement of policy of the Government; it contains a review of the activities and achievements of the Government during the previous year and sets out the policies which it wishes to pursue with regard to important national and international issues. As such, the scope of its discussions is wide as it includes a comprehensive account of national and international issues. During the discussions, several amendments are moved, highlighting different issues and making suggestions for government action. The Discussion of the “Motion of Thanks” is one of the most important discussions in the House. For the first time in the country’s legislative history, the Budget Session of 2017 was advanced to 31 January 2017 and the then President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, addressed members of both the Houses of Parliament assembled together in the Central Hall of Parliament, at the commencement of the first session of the year, on 31 January 2017. The text of the Address is reproduced in this issue of the Journal. This volume of the JPI also includes the South Asian Speakers’ Summit on ‘’Achieving Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)’’ organized jointly by the Parliament of India and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at Indore, Madhya Pradesh from 18 to 20 February 2017. The Hon’ble Speakers and dignitaries from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the President of IPU, Mr. Saber Chowdhury participated in the Conference. The Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan inaugurated the Summit and Addressing the dignitaries said that no development is possible and sustainable unless it has a human face. In this context, she quoted Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya who once said that “Integral humanism is the basis for development as it espouses indigenous economic model that puts the human being at the center stage.” Smt. Mahajan further said that the SDGs have set global priorities for progress of humanity and they strive to achieve a balance between the three pillars of economic growth, social development and environmental protection. Referring to the shared history, geography 96 The Journal of Parliamentary Information and destiny of the South Asian countries, Smt. Mahajan emphasized that all the countries of South Asia should work in tandem to achieve the goals for peace and prosperity of their people. Smt. Mahajan stressed that India is committed to work with international community to craft an ambitious, comprehensive and equitable development agenda with poverty eradication at its core. Further, mentioning about the significant role of the parliamentarians, who are the bridge between people and their governments, in achieving these targets, she urged them to focus on issues related to inter-generational equity; inequitable nature of development between nations; requirement of financial assistance and technology transfer from developed countries to developing countries; and enabling more equitable growth versus environmental concerns, etc. A declaration i.e., ‘Indore Declaration’ was adopted in the South Asian Speakers’ Summit is also included in this issue of the Journal. We have included brief accounts of the above mentioned Summit and some other Conferences/Seminars under the feature ‘Parliamentary Events and Activities’. We also carry in this issue the other regular features, viz. Procedural Matters, Parliamentary and Constitutional Developments, Sessional Review, Recent Literature of Parliamentary Interest and Appendices. In our constant pursuit of making the Journal more enriching and useful, we always look forward to suggestions for its further improvement. We also welcome informative, practice and problem oriented, non-partisan and original articles pertaining to parliamentary procedures and institutions from members of Parliament and State Legislatures, scholars and others interested in the field.

Anoop Mishra —Editor Address by the President to Parliament 97

1

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT TO PARLIAMENT

The provision for an Address by the Head of State to Parliament goes back to the year 1921 when the Central Legislature was set up for the first time under the Government of India Act, 1919. Under article 86(1) of the Constitution, the President may address either House of Parliament or both Houses assembled together, and for that purpose require the attendance of members. Article 87(1) provides that at the commencement of the first Session of each year, the President shall address both Houses of Parliament assembled together and inform the Parliament of the causes of its summons. The Address by the President is a statement of policy of the Government. It contains a review of the activities and achievements of the Government during the previous year and sets out the policies which it wishes to pursue with regard to important national and international issues. It also indicates the main items of legislative business which are proposed to be brought before Parliament during the sessions to be held that year. The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, addressed members of both the Houses of Parliament assembled together in the Central Hall of Parliament House on 31 January 2017. We reproduce below the text of the Address. —Editor

Honourable Members,

In this Basant season of renewal and resurgence, I welcome you all to this Joint Session of both Houses of Parliament. This is a historic session heralding the advancement of the Budget cycle and merger of the Railway Budget with the General Budget for the first time in independent India. We gather once again to celebrate democracy, a cherished value and culture that has prospered throughout the long history of our nation. Indeed, a culture that guides my government towards Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. The ideal of saha na vavatu, saha nau bhunaktu - May we be protected together and blessed together with bliss - has inspired our civilisation from time immemorial. This year marks the 350th birth anniversary of the great Sikh Guru -Guru Gobind Singhji. We are also observing the one thousandth birth anniversary of the great saint-philosopher Ramanujacharya. The luminous path of social transformation and reform 98 The Journal of Parliamentary Information shown by them serves as a beacon for all, and is an inspiration to my government. This year marks the Centenary year of Champaran Satyagraha, which gave a new direction to our freedom struggle and channelised janashakti in the fight against colonial power. Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of Satyagraha instilled in every Indian an indomitable self-belief, and spirit of sacrifice for the larger good. This janashakti is today our greatest strength. The resilience and forbearance demonstrated by our countrymen, particularly the poor, recently in the fight against black money and corruption, is remarkable. The same spirit has driven the LPG “Give It Up Campaign”. Over 1.2 crore consumers have voluntarily given up their LPG subsidy, which has helped the underprivileged in accessing LPG connections. This janashakti has transformed Swachh Bharat Mission into a jan-andolan. 1.4 lakh villages, over 450 cities, 77 districts and 3 states have declared themselves Open Defecation Free. My government salutes the strength of janashakti and pledges to constructively utilise it in Rashtra Nirman. Honourable Members, At the core of all my Government’s policies is the welfare of the garib, dalit, peedit, shoshit, vanchit, kisan, shramik and yuva. My government is guided by the Antyodaya philosophy of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. His centenary year is being observed as Garib Kalyan Varsh. Financial inclusion is key to poverty alleviation. An unprecedented 26 crore plus Jan Dhan accounts have been opened for the unbanked. Over 20 crore RUPAY debit cards have been issued to enable cashless payments. Moving swiftly from “Jan Dhan to Jan Suraksha” close to 13 crore poor have been covered under various social security schemes. To take the banking system to the doorstep of the poor and the unbanked, the Indian Postal Payment Bank has been started. The postal network with wider reach and deep penetration of over 1.5 lakh post offices will also function as postal banks. Besides the over 1 lakh bank- mitras appointed by banks, over 2.5 lakh Gram-Dak-Sewaks will also function as banking correspondents. Over C2 Lakh Crore has been provided through 5.6 crore loans sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana to ensure collateral-free bank financing for the unfunded, and to promote small businesses. Seventy per cent of this has been availed of by women entrepreneurs. Under the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, which aims to empower women, particularly from the deprived sections, over Rupees Sixteen Thousand crore have been made available to Self Help Groups in the Address by the President to Parliament 99 current Financial Year. The scheme aims to reach out to nearly 5 crore women soon. Honourable Members, My Government has taken many initiatives to improve the quality of life of the poor through assured housing, affordable healthcare, safe drinking water and sanitation, and access to clean energy. My Government is committed to provide shelter to every houseless poor household through the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana with appropriate interest subvention on housing credit.

Poor sanitation further weakens the economic wherewithal of a poor household. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to ensure health and sanitation, particularly for the poor. Under this mission, more than 3 crore toilets have been constructed.

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will make clean energy accessible to the poor. This scheme aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel – LPG, liberating them from the ill-effects of smoky kitchens, and long hours of collecting firewood. Free gas connections are being provided to 5 crore poor households. Already 1.5 crore connections have been provided in the current financial year. It is noteworthy that 37 per cent of the Ujjwala beneficiaries belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Under Deen Dayal Upadhayay Gram Jyoti Yojana, out of the over 18,000 villages which have been in darkness since independence, over 11,000 have been electrified in a record time. Under UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) programme, over 20 crore LED bulbs have been distributed, resulting in savings of more than Rupees Ten thousand crore in the electricity bills of consumers, majority of whom are poor. Several steps have been taken to make healthcare affordable and accessible to every citizen of our country, particularly the poor. Mission Indradhanush commits to vaccinate “every child everywhere” against preventable diseases. It has so far benefited 55 lakh children. Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan Aushadi Pariyojana has been launched to ensure that the poor have access to quality medicines at affordable prices. Special facilities created to control the endemic Japanese encephalitis have yielded encouraging results in significantly reducing mortality due to this disease.

Honourable Members, In Kisan’s welfare lies the nation’s prosperity. A favourable monsoon after consecutive years of drought, supplemented by farmer-oriented 100 The Journal of Parliamentary Information schemes has increased the acreage and yield of most Kharif crops. The sown area in the current Rabi season has shown six per cent increase in comparison to last year. My Government has taken various steps to transform the lives of our farmers. Focus has been on holistic development of agriculture sector - making available affordable credit, ensuring assured supply of seeds and fertilizers, improving irrigation facilities, comprehensive risk coverage, improving productivity through Soil Health Cards, assured market and remunerative prices for the produce through e-NAM (National Agriculture Market).

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana expanded the ambit of risk-coverage, doubled the sum insured, and facilitated lowest-ever premium for the farmers. During Kharif 2016, around 3.66 crore farmers were insured for a sum of C1.4 lakh crore. With the objective of digitisation of all the live Kisan Credit Cards, another three crore cards will be converted into RUPAY debit cards soon. The corpus of NABARD fund has been doubled to Rupees Forty One Thousand crore to ensure easy credit access to farmers. With focus on Per Drop More Crop and “Har Khet ko Pani”, coverage under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana has been expanded. More than 12.7 lakh hectares have been brought under micro irrigation in the last two years. Honourable Members may recall that soaring prices of pulses was a matter of grave concern around this time last year. My government has taken proactive steps and prices of pulses are now under control. To ensure fair price for farmers and to protect consumers, a buffer stock of 20 lakh tonnes of pulses has been envisaged against which 8 lakh tonnes of pulses have already been procured. Honourable Members, My government is making Nari Shakti an integral part of our development journey. Our women deserve equal opportunity. The Rio Olympics, where we took great pride in the performance of P.V. Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Deepa Karmakar and others, illustrates the strength of our women. Women are being inducted in combat streams of our Armed Forces. The nation is proud of its first three women fighter pilots. This reminds us of what we can achieve, as a nation, if women are fully empowered, and if their skills and talent are optimally utilised. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme that addresses the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio, is yielding encouraging results. Under the Sukanya Address by the President to Parliament 101

Samridhi Yojana, launched with an objective of ensuring a secure future to our girl child, over one crore accounts have been opened and an amount of over Rupees Eleven Thousand crore has been deposited. The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan will provide comprehensive ante-natal care by a qualified medical practitioner to all pregnant women. The revision of Maternity Benefit Act and enhancement of maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks will support pregnant women at the workplace. Sixty Five per cent of our population today is below the age of 35. Our youth is our greatest strength and yuva urja needs to be effectively channelised. With the motto of “Har Haath ko Hunar”, my government has taken several steps for skilling the youth and improving their employability. The work of skill development, that was earlier spread across 21 ministries and 50 departments, has been brought under one umbrella Ministry. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana has been launched with a budget outlay of Rupees Twelve thousand crore, to train One crore youth over the next four years. Over 20 lakh youth have already benefited. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme has been launched with a budget outlay of Rupees Ten thousand crore. Nine Hundred and Seventy Eight employment exchanges spread across the country have been integrated as part of the National Career Service Portal. My Government has opened new avenues and made higher technical education more accessible to students from economically weaker sections. For the first time, ITI trainees have been provided with academic equivalence at matriculation and higher secondary level through bridge courses to enable them to pursue higher education. With the objective of providing training of international standards to youth, a nation-wide network of 50 India International Skill Centres is being established. The Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana has been launched for promoting entrepreneurship education and training amongst 7 lakh students.

My government has announced a package of Rupees Six thousand crore to boost employment generation and exports in the apparel and made-ups sector. This package is expected to generate over 1.1 crore jobs, mostly for women.

Honourable Members, Shram-eva jayate ¼Jesot¸krs½ is one of the foremost guiding principles of my government and several measures have been taken for the welfare of the shramik. For the first time ever, minimum wages have been increased by 42 per cent in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. For bonus coverage, the calculation ceiling limit has been doubled to Rupees Seven thousand, and the eligibility limit increased from Rupees Ten thousand 102 The Journal of Parliamentary Information to Rupees Twenty One thousand. This will directly benefit an additional 55 lakh workers. The Universal Account Number has ensured portability of EPF accounts and has safeguarded the interest of crores of workers. Workers employed in the informal sector will benefit the most from my Government’s decision to enable employers to pay wages to their employees through banks. This will increase compliance of payment of minimum wages. It shall ensure that workers in the unorganized sector also enjoy health benefits under Employees State Insurance Corporation and social security through Provident Fund. Implementation of the 7th Pay Commission has benefited 50 lakh employees and 35 lakh pensioners. To protect senior citizens from the impact of interest-rate fluctuations, interest rate for senior citizens has been fixed at 8 per cent payable monthly for a period of 10 years. Honourable Members, Social and economic equality for the deprived and disempowered sections is the first promise of our constitution. My government is committed to fulfill this promise. Through the Stand-up India initiative, my government plans to empower over two and a half lakh Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women entrepreneurs. For promoting entrepreneurship, the National Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Hub has been launched, with an initial allocation of C490 crore. Under the Forest Rights Act, about 16.5 lakh Individual Forest Rights titles have been granted over an area of 55.4 lakh acres of forest land. Further, Community Forest Rights titles have been distributed over an area of about 47 lakh acres of forest land. The location of our mineral wealth largely coincides with tribal habitations in our country. The Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana will serve the dual purpose of ensuring sustainable mining activity as well as local area development for the betterment of the tribals and the poor inhabitants in the mining areas. District Mineral Foundation is a novel initiative in this regard. My government has increased the allocation under the Tribal sub- plan. Fourteen different sectors have been identified under the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana for the empowerment of tribals. 100 out of the 300 clusters envisaged under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission, will be developed in tribal areas. The success of the Indian cricket team at the World cup for the Blind, 2014 and the Indian Paralympics contingent at Rio 2016 demonstrates Address by the President to Parliament 103 that our Divyang jan can scale great heights, if afforded an opportunity. My Government is committed to providing the Divyang jan equal opportunities for development. Besides increasing the percentage of reservation for Divyang jan from 3 to 4 per cent in government jobs, my government has accelerated filling up of backlog vacancies. Over 6 lakh Divyang jan have so far benefitted from 4700 special assistance camps organised across the country since May 2014. The Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is improving accessibility for the Divyang jan at public places. For the first time, Speech and Language Disability, and Specific Learning Disability have been included in The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. A common sign language is being developed for the entire country. The Niramaya Swasthya Bima Yojana provides Divyang jan affected by autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and those with multiple disabilities, a health insurance cover of up to One lakh rupees. Honourable Members, Like the strings of sitar, which produce different notes but come together to create a beautiful melody, people professing different faiths and religions constitute the spirit of India and contribute to the strength of the nation. The courage and sacrifice of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, whose 300th martyrdom anniversary we observe this year; and the spirit of selfless service of Mother Teresa, who was cannonised recently, inspire us in equal measure. My government has taken several measures to ensure that the aspirations of people from all communities are fulfilled, and a more focused approach has been taken towards inclusive development of the notified minority communities, namely Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains. While scholarship and fellowship schemes have encouraged their educational empowerment; skill development schemes like Seekho aur kamao, Usttad and Nai Manzil have enabled their economic empowerment. Just as all the drops of rainwater and streams converge in an ocean, all the policies of my government converge for the welfare of the poor, deprived and the underprivileged. From giving house to the shelter less to electrifying un-electrified villages, from giving free LPG connections to supplying LED bulbs to the poor, from Jan Dhan to Jan Suraksha, from making available affordable health care to providing quality education to the poor — central to all the policies of my government is the welfare of the poor. Honourable Members, Balanced and equitable development of all regions is vital to India’s progress. Under its proactive “Act East” policy, my government is focusing 104 The Journal of Parliamentary Information on reducing the isolation of the Eastern region and North-east by improving connectivity through road, rail, air, telecom, power and waterways. My Government has started the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga with the execution of Two Thousand Five Hundred kilometers long Jagdishpur- Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline Project. With an investment of around Rupees Twelve thousand Five hundred crore, this project will cater to energy requirements of five states, covering 40 districts and 2,600 villages. This project will also lead to the revival of three large fertilizer plants, industrialization of more than 20 cities and city gas network development in 7 cities.

My Government sees the North Eastern states as the Ashtalakshmi that can take India to new heights. The North East is the gateway to South East Asia. We are opening up road and rail routes to our neighbouring countries to boost the economic development of the region. To ensure unhindered support and development of North Eastern states, my government is continuing with the special dispensation in the assistance pattern to the North-eastern states, and is providing assistance in the ratio of 90:10 for core central schemes and 80:20 for non-core schemes to these states. By the end of the year, all Meter-Gauge tracks in the north-eastern states will be converted to Broad-Gauge. The railways have undertaken a major expansion in the region at a cost of around Rupees Ten thousand crore. Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have been put on the rail map, Agartala in Tripura has been connected with broad gauge line. The Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited and Numaligarh Refinery Limited’s wax unit are big projects that will create huge employment opportunities in the North East region. The Government has approved North East BPO promotion scheme in the Digital India programme for creation of employment opportunities. The beauty and diversity of the North East makes it a natural hub for tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has identified a thematic circuit for the North East region. My government has provided special financial assistance to mitigate the damages caused by unprecedented floods in the hilly and other areas of the country.

Honourable Members, From highways to i-ways; from railways to waterways; from seaports to airports; from water pipelines to gas pipelines, from earth sciences to Address by the President to Parliament 105 satellites, from rural infrastructure to smart cities, creation of vital next- generation infrastructure has received special attention of my government.

For modernization of Railways, the highest-ever capital outlay of C1.21 lakh crore has been provided. My government aims to connect all rural habitations with all weather roads. 73,000 kilometres of road has been built so far in rural areas. More than five thousand kilometres of roads in 44 Left Wing Extremism affected districts are being upgraded. The National Civil Aviation Policy, will give a major boost to air connectivity in the smaller cities and towns. Under the Bharat Net Project, Optical Fibre Cables now cover over 75,700 Gram Panchayats, up from only 59 in May 2014.

India has launched 8 operational missions covering meteorological, navigation, and earth observation and communication satellites. ISRO completed the seven-satellite constellation of Indian Regional Navigational Satellite Systems, NAVIC ¼ukfod½ ISRO added another feather to its cap this year by successfully launching 20 satellites in a highest-ever single launch.

My government is committed to optimally harness our marine wealth and give a new impetus to ocean-led development. Under the Sagarmala programme on port-led development, a total of 199 projects with an outlay of over Rupees Three lakh crore have been identified for implementation in the next three years. Of these, projects of more than Rupees One lakh crore are already under implementation. The seas surrounding the Indian Peninsula contain One thousand Three hundred and Eighty Two of our islands, out of which, to begin with, 26 have been earmarked for integrated development. The Blue Economy, with focus on sustainable development of fisheries will continue to receive our special attention.

As a reaffirmation of our commitment to clean energy, my government has taken giant strides in increasing our renewable energy capacity to 47 Giga Watts so far, against our target of 175 Giga Watts.

Placing fresh impetus on rural infrastructure, untied financial resources of over Rupees Two lakh crore are being transferred to Gram Panchayats during 2015-20. The allocation to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in 2016-17 has been over Rupees Forty Seven thousand crore which is the highest ever since the inception of the programme and the focus is now on creation of durable assets and rural infrastructure.

Giving a major boost to creation of urban infrastructure, annual action plan for 500 cities with an outlay of Rupees Fifty thousand crore has 106 The Journal of Parliamentary Information been approved. Metro Rail Projects have been sanctioned for four cities including Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Pune, and an extension of Chennai Metro has also been approved. Honourable Members,

My Government has taken bold decisions in the interest of the poor.

To combat the evils of black-money, corruption, counterfeit currency and terror financing, my government took the decision on 8th November, 2016 to demonetize old five hundred and one thousand rupee currency notes. My Government’s very first cabinet decision was to set up an SIT on black-money. The passing of Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, amendments to treaties with Singapore, Cyprus and Mauritius to prevent misuse of provisions in such treaties for tax evasion and movement of black-money in India and the Taxation Amendment Act providing for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, have together resulted in a comprehensive policy backed initiative against black- money.

The four-decade old demand of one-rank-one-pension (OROP) of our Armed Forces veterans has been fulfilled. The total financial implications would be around Rupees Eleven thousand crore. More than Rupees Six thousand Two hundred crore have been released in two tranches benefiting over 19.6 lakh veterans.

My government has taken decisive steps to give a fitting reply to the repeated incursions on our territorial sovereignty. On 29th September 2016 our defence forces successfully conducted surgical strikes at several launch pads along the Line of Control to prevent infiltration by terrorists. We are proud of the exemplary courage and valour displayed by our defence personnel and owe a debt of the gratitude to them.

Honourable Members,

Transforming the culture of governance, my Government has simplified procedures, repealed obsolete laws and eliminated scope for corruption. The Direct Benefit Transfer programme of subsidies through the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) Trinity has prevented leakages and helped save Rupees Thirty Six thousand crore. PAHAL is the world’s largest cash benefit transfer scheme that has saved over Rupees Twenty One thousand crore in two years. Digidhan Abhiyaan and Two lakh Common Service Centres are providing employment to over 5 lakh youth, and spreading digital literacy. Address by the President to Parliament 107

The launch of mobile app – BHIM - Bharat Interface for Money - is a tribute to the vision of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar who sought economic empowerment of the poorest. Within a few days, it has become one of the most popular mobile app-based payment mechanisms in the country. The biometric AADHAAR Payment system to be launched soon will usher a technological revolution in India.

Coal block and spectrum auctions illustrate the highest standards of transparency set by my government in allocation of natural resources. To carry this forward, government procurements have been brought under a single platform - Government eMarket Place (GeM).

The process of recruitment to government jobs has been made simpler and transparent by dispensing with interviews for recruitments to over Thirty Four lakh non-gazetted posts. The process of appointments to senior positions in government has also been streamlined and is guided solely by objectivity, merit and integrity.

Over Eleven hundred obsolete laws have been repealed and 400 more are in the process of being repealed. Legislations relating to Women, Divyang jan, Labour, Apprentices, Factories, Benami Transactions, Aadhaar and Real Estate, to mention a few - mirrors my Government’s guiding philosophy of Transparency, and Social Justice.

Honourable Members,

Frequent elections put on hold development programmes, disrupt normal public life, and impact essential services and burden human resource with prolonged periods of election duty. My government welcomes a constructive debate on simultaneous conduct of elections to Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. Funding of elections to eradicate the misuse of money power also needs to be debated. My Government would welcome any decision taken by the Election Commission in this regard after consultations with political parties.

Honourable Members, Celebrating the cultural diversity along with the richness of language and heritage of every state, my government has started the Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat programme. The uniqueness of this programme is to pair and entwine two different states with diverse cultures for over a year so that each state can assimilate the cultural spirit of the other. Taking forward the concept of cooperative federalism through One nation-One tax and One nation-One market, both Houses of Parliament passed the Goods and Services Tax Act. 17 states governed by political 108 The Journal of Parliamentary Information parties across the political spectrum ratified this in a record 23 days. My Government is thankful to the GST Council for working to resolve outstanding issues. Honourable Members,

India has been widely acclaimed as a bright spot in the global economy, at a time when global growth has been slow. The rate of inflation, the balance of payments, current account deficit and the fiscal deficit have been consistently reduced since 2014. Foreign Direct Investment and foreign exchange reserves have reached record levels. The country’s macroeconomic fundamentals are very strong, creating a platform for sustained high growth.

FDI inflows in 2015-16 were US $55.6 billion, the highest-ever for any financial year. My Government further liberalized FDI policy provisions in various sectors in June 2016.

My Government is closely working with the State Governments to identify constraints in doing business. The rankings of the States/UTs show that the national implementation average of reforms stands at around 49 per cent, much higher than last year’s 32 per cent. India is ranked third in the list of top prospective host economies for 2016-18 in the World Investment Report 2016 released by UNCTAD ¼vadVkM½. Honourable Members,

India has been facing the grave challenge of terrorism for the last four decades. Terrorism poses a serious danger to the global community. India will actively collaborate with other nations in decisively defeating these forces. My government is committed to combating terrorism, and to ensure that the perpetrators of such acts are brought to justice.

The State of Jammu and Kashmir has been affected by terrorism sponsored and supported from across the border. The attempts of infiltration, incidents of terrorist violence and loss of precious lives of civilians and security personnel remain a cause of grave concern. There has been considerable success in containing Left Wing Extremism over the last three years, with the surrender of over 2600 extremists. The security situation in the North Eastern states has also shown significant improvement. Honourable Members, My Government, committed to the philosophy of partnerships for peace and progress, continues its active diplomacy aimed at facilitating national Address by the President to Parliament 109 development, enhancing our security, and ensuring greater Indian influence in global fora. The intensity of our international engagements has helped us shape a diverse and purposeful agenda with our global partners. There has been a consolidation of relations with friendly countries and major powers. The common desire of the South Asian region for greater prosperity and development led most of its nations to make common cause in their opposition to terrorism. Membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and signing of the Memorandum of Obligations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation were further reflections of India’s growing and multi-dimensional role in global affairs.

India hosted the eighth BRICS Summit at Goa with its BIMSTEC outreach, and the sixth Heart of Asia Conference at Amritsar, marking important contributions to our regional and pluri-lateral outreach. India hosted a three day Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Delhi, in which more than 50 Asian and Pacific countries participated.

There are over Thirty million Overseas Indians, settled in almost every corner of the world. They continue to make invaluable contributions to Indian society and economy. My government will maximize the strengths of Indian diaspora in nation building and for deepening our global outreach. Realising the importance of developing tourism, my Government has approved the new e-VISA policy and expanded the scope of e-tourist visa to include purposes such as short-term medical treatment and business trips. 161 countries are now covered under e-VISA. With over 88 lakh foreign tourist arrivals in 2016, tourism sector has shown a growth rate of over 10 per cent.

India ratified the Paris agreement on 2nd October 2016, thereby sending a strong message of our commitment to combating climate change with focus on climate justice and sustainable lifestyle. The United Nations Environment Programme has recognized India as one of the countries on track in achieving its voluntary goals. 25 nations have signed the Framework Agreement of International Solar Alliance, the first treaty based organisation initiated by India. Honourable Members, Indians today have a deep sense of pride in the awakening of India caused by the momentous steps my government has undertaken. Our fellow citizens have exhibited great solidarity with our endeavours in transforming India. My government reiterates its commitment to fulfill the aspirations of our citizens. The Vision of Mahatma Gandhi and other 110 The Journal of Parliamentary Information founding fathers lays down a great path for a resurgent India. This path is of debate, discussion, accommodation and understanding. It is the rich tradition of Samvaad, Samanvay and Samvedna that will continue to guide the spirit of our nation building. Honourable Members,

We gather here today to redeem the trust reposed by our countrymen, particularly the poor, in the sacred Institution of Parliament. Every action of ours, in this temple of democracy must be an offering at the altar of the innumerable sacrifices that have built this nation. Let us work towards a common future, seeded in the promise of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, that will bring to all the equality and dignity enshrined in our constitution. Jai Hind. ************* Address by the Speaker Lok Sabha 111

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ADDRESS BY THE SPEAKER, LOK SABHA, AT THE SOUTH ASIAN SPEAKERS’ SUMMIT ON ‘ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)’ HELD AT INDORE ON 18 FEBRUARY, 2017

The South Asian Speakers’ Summit on ‘Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ was held at Indore, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday 18th February, 2017. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan attended the Summit and addressed in the Conference on 18 February, 2017. We reproduce below the text of the Address by the Speaker, Lok Sabha at the conference. —Editor

Hon’ble President of Inter Parliamentary Union, Saber Chowdhury ji, Hon’ble Speakers of different countries – from Bangladesh, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury; from Afghanistan, Dr. Abdul Raouf ji; from Bhutan, Mr. Jigme Zangpo ji; from Maldives, Dear Abdulla-ji; from Nepal, Ms. Onasari Gharti ji; from Sri Lanka, Mr. Karu Jayasuriya; from Bhutan National Council, Mt. Tshering Dorji, Deputy Chairperson; Members of Parliaments from the participating countries; our beloved Speaker of Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Dr. Sitasaran Sharma; and the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha, and all the dignitaries on the dais:- Ladies and gentlemen, it is really my privilege to welcome you all, from the core of my heart, to this South Asian Speakers’ Summit. We, in South Asia, have not only a shared history, a contiguous geography, but we will have to keep in our mind, that we shared destiny also. We must work in a tandem to achieve the goals for peace and prosperity of our people. Friends, the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs, as we call it, have set global priorities for progress of humanity. The SDGs’ emphasize on achieving a balance between the three pillars — economic growth, social development and environmental protection. I personally feel that this approach somehow was very much required in our contemporary growth and development strategy. This is very close to the philosophy of life that our region always espoused for in last several centuries. In my view, immediate relevance of the goals to the local priorities at the national and sub-national levels actually holds the key. I strongly 112 The Journal of Parliamentary Information feel that development at the cost of our culture is not sustainable at all. Our past tells us how civilizational strengths may steer us through the contemporary challenges. I must also mention here that first and foremost is the citizen. No development is possible and sustainable unless it has a human face. As rightly said by our President, Saber ji, we have to look at the last person in the queue. The same thing was said by Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, India’s leading political philosopher and mass leader. He once said and I quote, “Integral humanism is the basis for development as it espouses indigenous economic model that puts the human being at the center stage.” We have to work for this also. Friends, before I proceed further, I would like to say a few words about the city, that is, my city Indore, the venue of the Summit. It is the largest city and the commercial capital of the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh, which we call the Central Province of India. The city traces its roots to its 16th Century founding as a trading hub. It is also considered as an education hub and the only city in India which houses the internationally famed Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management. The city has been selected as one of the first twenty cities to be developed as Smart Cities. I would like to recall the legacy of a great woman who belongs to this soil and whose contributions for women’s upliftment was remarkable. She was Ahilyabai Holkar. A noble, saintly and courageous woman, she had been a queen of Indore. Why I am saying all these things is that actually, in 16th-17th Century, she was the Queen of Indore. But more importantly, becoming a queen, she was the queen of hearts of people. Today, you will find, nobody calls her like a Queen of Indore, Ahilyabai. All of them say her as ‘Devi’ or as a mother — Mother Ahilyabai Holkar. She is still remembered and worshipped for her great administrative qualities and dispensing justice without fear or favour. Today, we are going to discuss women equality. On gender equality, we are going to discuss a subject. But I would like to tell you that in 17th Century, Ahilyabai Holkar gave women, right to education and right to property. In 17th Century, she did it; and that is why I think that Indore is the right place to discuss about gender equality. I feel privileged to represent this Constituency for the last 28 years but it is a legacy. The people of Indore are electing me. There is no doubt about it. I am elected here because it was once ruled by this legendry woman. People still think that ‘yes’, women can do better, may be, because Ahilyabai did it. Friends, SDGs’ are aspirational and I feel they reflect the wider expectations of our people. A goal without a plan is just a wish. That is why we are here to think about on these SDGs’. Yes, inclusive and broad based economic growth has to be promoted to reduce the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Ensuring effective delivery of schemes, Address by the Speaker Lok Sabha 113 which targets the people at the bottom of the socio-economic strata of the society goes a long way in eradicating poverty and achieving the very first goal. That is our first goal in SDGs’. It is said that the 21st century belongs to Asia. Yes, all of them say it. If that were so, the South Asian Region, with its tremendous potential in terms of human resources and various other resources, has a pivotal role to make it happen. I do not say that we are thickly populated. No. It is a potential. There is a tremendous potential in terms of human resources and other resources. It is the human resource that we call it. It is not only a population. We must think in that way.

This can come about only when we are able to surmount the challenges before our countries and the South Asian region as a whole. This Summit of Presiding Officers of the region offers a tremendous opportunity to show the way forward to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our region is endowed with vast natural resources, rich culture and ancient heritage. All the South Asian countries are also endowed with vast natural resources, rich culture and ancient heritage. Despite this, we are plagued by poverty and conflicts. We have to think about it also. Nonetheless, we continue to focus on the path of development. Our governments have committed to achieving the SDG and have set forth in that direction. In case of India, much of India’s developmental agenda is mirrored in the Sustainable Development Goals.

I am certain that other countries in South Asia have already aligned or in the process of aligning their national actions with SDGs’ with the aim to implement the 2030 Agenda. I am quite sure about it. Friends, I am very happy to note that in this Summit we have tried to capture three themes - resources for implementation of SDGs’, gender equity, climate change and disaster management. There is little doubt that we have overcome many political, social and economic challenges in the past century and are marching towards a better future. I think, all the nations, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, they will agree with me on this but now that is a past and we are going for future. However, resource limitation is a challenge all of our respective governments are grappling with. According to some calculations, the estimated expenditure for achieving of SDGs globally is about 5 to 7 trillion US$ per annum of which the developing countries need about 3.9 trillion US$ per annum. India is expected to have an expenditure of about 565 billion dollars per annum approximately in the next 15 years to achieve SDGs. This would require help from all possible quarters including the developed countries and international Institutions. 114 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

In order to achieve effective reliable development data collection is a major challenge before the policy makers. It is an important issue how we collect timely and high-quality data. We need cleaner, better, and latest technologies to accelerate the process of social transformation and capacity building support to catalyze the developmental process. A significant portion of these resources predicate upon realization of the commitments made by the developed countries to provide financial and technological support to the developing countries. There is no doubt about it but still we have to stand on our own legs.

We all understand that gender equity is a crucial factor for the achievement of SDGs’. The adage that when you educate a woman, you educate a society clearly applies to our social set up. Ensuring economic independence and awareness about inheritance rights would give them confidence to face the life as it comes. Apart from the discrimination the girl child faces at home, there is an urgent need for continuous efforts to be made to promote the welfare of the girl child. Elimination of child marriage, access to reproductive healthcare facilities and overall emphasis on hygiene and personal care of women are few of the critical areas we have to concentrate.

In addition to special campaigns by the Government, civil society groups have also been engaged in creating awareness about how women play a vital role in society as they have the responsibility of bringing up children and the upkeep of their homes.

Climate change poses grave risks. Women are most vulnerable people and therefore are most at risk from climate change. They spend increasingly long hours hunting for food, fuel and water, or struggling to grow crops. In India, at least, 80 per cent of the women in villages work in farms. So, in agriculture, we find that women labourers are more here. So, women have to think about the availability of water and other things. Through their experiences and traditional knowledge, women can offer valuable insights into better managing the climate and its risks. However, their knowledge about traditional practices is often excluded from decisions about sustainable ecosystems. We have to think about this also. I am keeping all these points for all of us to think about.

The countries of the region have acknowledged that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating global response to climate change that takes into cognizance the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) to protect interests of developing countries. Address by the Speaker Lok Sabha 115

Nurture the nature has been the guiding philosophy of Indian way of living. It is for all of us also. I think, South Asian countries are not different on this that we have to nurture the nature and we should think on that line only. We are committed to a sustainable path to prosperity. It comes from the natural instinct of Indian tradition and culture. Let us work together to achieve the noble goals as laid down in the SDGs’. In this context, I would like to quote another Sanskrit shloka from our ancient text: lgukoorqA lgukSHkquäqA lgoh¸kZa djokogSA rstfLoukoèkhreLrqA ek fof}‘kkogSAA ”kkfUr% ”kkfUr% ”kkfUr%AA

(Meaning thereby, Om! May he protect us, may we enjoy (the knowledge), together may we work with great energy, may our journey together be brilliant and effective, may there be no bad feelings between us. Om peace, peace, peace everywhere and then only development will be there.)

Friends, we are also going to exchange views on regional cooperation and interconnectedness of our paths to achieve SDG targets. We all know that SAARC already has a mandate for coordination and cooperation to implement SDGs in the Region. Sharing of experiences in certain areas and contextualizing targets at sub-regional level can also be explored. Success stories of Public Private Partnerships and ensuring corporate social responsibility can be exchanged to improve strategies in implementation of SDGs’. Parliamentarians, who are often the bridge between people and their government, have a great role to play in achieving these targets. As elected representatives, it is our duty to ensure that our respective governments take concrete measures for realizing these goals. This common road map to end poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, ignorance, disease and discrimination, especially of the girl child, requires conscious effort and concerted action from all of us here to achieve the desired results. We need to focus on issues related to inter-generational equity; inequitable nature of development between nations; requirement of financial assistance and technology transfer from developed countries to developing countries; enabling more equitable growth versus environmental concerns. Our interaction benefits the region and allows us to have better understanding of issues facing our peoples and to find ways to deal with them. The SDG targets can be met by us in the region if we all work together to achieve them. 116 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

To conclude, India and its Parliament is committed to working with international community to craft an ambitious, comprehensive and equitable development agenda with poverty eradication at its core. Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope you will find this two-day summit fruitful and productive and would carry with you pleasant memories of your stay in the beautiful city of Indore. I am sure, the Indore Declaration at the end of the Summit would pave way for further cooperation in the region. I wish all of us, including myself, a successful discussion. No doubt, you can enjoy. In Indore, our media was asking me, Madam, whether you are taking all of our Speakers to different places. I said, to some places, I will definitely try because actually, you know, Indore is famous for eating and enjoying the atmosphere also. I can tell you, there are special markets for eating. There are 56 shops for eating only. There is a Sarafa Bazaar, a jewellery market. But, in the evening, you will find very good dishes there. I am not sure, how we can manage to go there. You know, our Ahilyabai Holkar in eighteenth century started a weavers’ group. She gave them all facilities. Those sarees, those clothes – Maheshwari we call it – are still famous. They are called Indori sarees. They are famous. Still today, all these weavers are working. That is why I call her a very good administrator. You are welcome here. I am quite sure that this Indore discussion here on Sustainable Development Goals will be fruitful, no doubt. Again all of us will come together; we will think together and we will work together so that we can show that South Asian region is not simply thickly populated; it is really a human resource and we will use it for betterment. Thank you very much.

************ Declaration of South Asian Speakers’ Summit at Indore 117

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DECLARATION OF SOUTH ASIAN SPEAKERS’ SUMMIT ON ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs), HELD AT INDORE, MADHYA PRADESH ON 18 AND 19 FEBRUARY, 2017

We, the Speakers of the national Parliaments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, having deliberated on the theme, Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Resources for the SDGs at the South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at Indore on 18-19 February, 2017; Recognizing the Summit’s utmost relevance in light of the convergence of our interests and shared destiny of our peoples as we strive towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Noting that the South Asian region, home to more than a fifth of humanity, is faced with challenges of poverty eradication, gender inequality, inadequate regional connectivity, climate change and disaster management; Underscoring the imperatives of the SDGs for eliminating poverty, and stressing gender equality as a critical factor for sustainable development, as well as the need to deal with the challenges of climate change and natural disasters; Emphasizing the need for harmonizing development with environmental preservation, and recognizing the centrality of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities; Also emphasizing the strengthening of appropriate policies and legislation for transforming societal attitudes towards women and mainstreaming them as a critical factor for sustainable development;

Stressing the need for greater intraregional connectivity for promoting trade, transport, tourism, technology and disaster mitigation; Appreciating the need to mobilize resources for implementing the SDGs;

Emphasizing the need to strengthen parliamentary cooperation, in pursuance of the 2016 Dhaka Declaration on SDG Action in South Asia; 118 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

Encourage parliamentarians of the South Asia region to share, to learn and benefit from the best practices followed in our respective countries; Urge parliaments to create enabling conditions for encouraging the private sector, civil society organizations and other stakeholders to participate in the realization of the SDGs;

Call upon parliaments to create gender-sensitive elected bodies, particularly at the grassroots level, with a view to achieving gender equality and prioritizing issues pertinent to women; Encourage parliaments to put in place legislative measures to protect women against discrimination, violence, sexual harassment, atrocities and trafficking; Emphasize the need to provide equal opportunities and access to health care, nutrition, education and skills development;

Urge parliaments to collectively work to advance actions, strategies and cooperation among all stakeholders in order to mobilize additional resources and achieve the targets under the SDGs in a time-bound manner; Reaffirm that the achievement of the SDGs is closely linked to addressing the threat of climate change and strengthening disaster risk reduction, which require regional as well as international cooperation; Stress that the Paris Agreement should continue to be guided by the principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, especially the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities;

Agree to consider setting up joint parliamentary groups under the Forum to deliberate and deepen cooperation on relevant issues; Call for greater and urgent cooperation among the South Asian countries in order to strengthen a regional response and meet the challenges of climate change and related disasters;

Call upon the IPU to facilitate dialogue and cooperation for achieving the SDGs; Call for the sharing of knowledge, information, research support and capacity-building programmes for achieving the SDGs;

Call upon the parliaments of the South Asia region to allocate one day in a session for deliberation on the SDGs. *********** South Asian Speakers’ Summit at Indore 119

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SOUTH ASIAN SPEAKERS’ SUMMIT ON ‘ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS’, INDORE, 18-20 FEBRUARY 2017.

Anoop Mishra Secretary-General, Lok Sabha

The South Asian Speakers’ Summit on ‘Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’ was organized jointly by the Parliament of India and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Indore from 18 to 20 February 2017. The Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, the Speaker of Afghanistan, Dr. Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi; Speaker of Bangladesh, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury; Speaker of the National Assembly of Bhutan, Mr. Jigme Zangpo; Speaker of Maldives, Mr. Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed; Speaker of Nepal, Ms. Onasari Gharti; Speaker of Sri Lanka, Mr. Karu Jayasuriya; Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha, Dr. M. Thambidurai; Secretary of the Senate Board, Meshrano Jirga, Mr. Abdullah Qarluq; Deputy Chairperson, National Council of Bhutan, Mr. Tshering Dorjee; and President of IPU, Mr. Saber H. Chowdhury participated in the Conference.

Inaugurating the Summit, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan talked about how South Asia shares a common history as well as destiny. She expressed the need to work in tandem to achieve the goals for peace and prosperity of the people. Elaborating further, she said that the Sustainable Development Goals have set global priorities for progress of humanity. The SDGs emphasize on achieving a balance amongst the three pillars — economic growth, social development and environmental protection and that this approach somehow was very much required in contemporary growth and development strategy and is very close to the philosophy of life that the region always espoused for in last several centuries.

She emphasized that development at the cost of culture is not sustainable at all and that development is possible and sustainable only if it has a human face. Recalling Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, India’s leading political philosopher and mass leader, she quoted his words:

“Integral humanism is the basis for development as it espouses indigenous economic model that puts the human being at the center stage.” 120 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

She further said that SDGs are aspirational and they reflect the wider expectations of our people. A goal without a plan is just a wish. She asserted that inclusive and broad based economic growth has to be promoted to reduce the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Ensuring effective delivery of schemes, which target the people at the bottom of the socio-economic strata of the society, goes a long way in eradicating poverty and achieving the very first goal that is about poverty alleviation.

She pointed out that although the 21st century belongs to Asia there is a need to surmount the challenges before our countries and the South Asian region in particular. She said that governments in the region have committed to achieving the SDGs and have set forth in that direction. In case of India, much of India’s developmental agenda is mirrored in the Sustainable Development Goals. India is estimated to have an expenditure of about 565 billion US dollars per annum in the next 15 years to achieve SDGs. This would require help from all possible quarters including the developed countries and international institutions. She stressed that effective reliable development data collection is a major challenge before the policy makers.

On gender equality, she said that it is a crucial factor for the achievement of SDGs and that the adage that when you educate a woman, you educate a society clearly applies in the Indian social set up. The need for ensuring economic independence and awareness about inheritance rights to give women the confidence to face life as it comes was emphasized. She pointed out that elimination of child marriage, access to reproductive healthcare facilities and overall emphasis on hygiene and personal care of women are a few areas that countries need to concentrate on.

Acknowledging women’s role in climate change, she said that women are most vulnerable people and are most at risk from climate change as 80 per cent of the women in villages work in farms. Through their experiences and traditional knowledge, women can offer valuable insights into better managing the climate and its risks. However, their knowledge about traditional practices is often excluded from decisions about sustainable ecosystems.

She further said that the countries of the region have acknowledged that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating global response to climate change that takes into cognizance the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) to protect interests of developing countries. South Asian Speakers’ Summit at Indore 121

She pointed out that nurture the nature has been the guiding philosophy of Indian way of living and that comes from the natural instinct of Indian tradition and culture. She reminded about SAARC mandate for coordination and cooperation to implement SDGs in the Region. She opined that sharing of experiences in certain areas and contextualizing targets at sub-regional level can also be explored. Emphasizing the role of parliamentarians she said, parliamentarians, who are often the bridge between people and their government, have a great role to play in achieving these targets. As elected representatives, it is their duty to ensure that the respective governments take concrete measures for realizing these goals. This common road map to end poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, ignorance, disease and discrimination, especially of the girl child, requires conscious effort and concerted action from all to achieve the desired results.

Addressing the Summit, the President of IPU, Mr. Saber H. Chowdhury pointed out that the SDGs are of vital importance and that it aims to leave no one behind. He said partnerships are going to be critically important when it comes to delivering on the SDGs - partnerships across the board, within Parliaments, within various Ministries, between Parliaments and Governments. Parliamentarians and parliaments have responsibilities that relate to legislation, policy coherence, oversight and of course appropriation of resources through budgetary processes. If there is going to be success at the global level in achieving the SDGs, South Asia has to deliver.

He pointed out that the MDGs South Asia’s track record has been quite good in terms of poverty alleviation, gender and primary education. Still, there are over 500 million people, that is about 31 per cent, who are trapped in extreme poverty in South Asia. That is on the basis of one dollar 25 cents per day as the line. A staggering amount of almost 10 to 20 per cent of GDPs, i.e. 5 trillion dollars is required to meet the gaps in infrastructure development, he added.

The Plenary Session on Identifying Resources for SDGs implementation in South Asia: Opportunities for Parliamentary Cooperation, witnessed a very informed and stimulating discussion.

Dr. Arvind Pangariya, Vice-Chairman, Niti Aayog, Resource Person, said growth is absolutely critical to all of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that the Members of the United Nations have agreed to pursue until 2030. He further said that South Asia is the fastest growing region at about 7 per cent by all estimates. Between 2002 and 2015, the per capita income actually more than tripled, that is just about a 13 year period and the regions saw its incomes more than tripled, multiplied by a factor 3.3 to be precise. Poverty has come crashing down taking the 122 The Journal of Parliamentary Information international poverty line that the World Bank uses, the figure in Bangladesh came down from 49 per cent in 2000 to 32 per cent in 2010; in India it came down from 37 per cent in 2004 to 22 per cent in 2011; in Sri Lanka the number came down from 22.7 per cent in 2002 to 6.7 per cent in 2012. These, he pointed out, are by any stretch of imagination very impressive set of figures, very impressive progress.

Also, Gross enrolment ratios have grown at unprecedented rates during this period in the South Asian region. Taking the region as a whole, the primary level gross enrolment ratios went up from 91 per cent in 2001 to about 109 per cent in 2014, that again is very impressive and certainly unprecedented rate of progress. He said that growth works because it directly puts incomes in the hands of people; it creates jobs; it reduces poverty and of course it reduces hunger. It puts purchasing power in the hands of the people. It also empowers people by putting more income in their hands by enabling them to access education whether it is provided publicly or privately; and likewise it enables people to access health and again whether it is provided publicly or privately. But indirectly also, in fact, the more powerful reason that growth works is that it empowers the Government by putting ever rising revenues in its hands. In 2015 the Third International Conference on Financing and Development at Addis Ababa explored the issue as to where from the developmental resources would come for the 2030 agenda. He said that the domestic resource mobilization is very much impacted by what goes on internationally given what the rules of the game are. A lot of illicit cross-border financial flows happen from the developing countries to the developed countries and that means less resource left for the social spending. Likewise, the trans-pricing practices by the multinational companies results in loss of revenues, as also profit-shifting and base erosion. These issues have been taken up in the G-20 also but progress has been relatively slow. The UNCTAD estimates that there are about 450 billion dollars worth of corporate profits that get shifted annually from developing to developed countries resulting in loss of revenue. Dr. Pangariya pointed that India receives an aid of only about 0.25 per cent of the GDP and a vast proportion of it in loans. In short, roughly about 90 per cent of it actually goes back in paying the interests on the past loans. In Paris Agreement, which sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change, in parallel, there is a commitment by the developed countries to provide 100 billion dollars per annum to meet their index. In his presentation, the other Resource Person on the subject, Mr. Yuri Afanasiev, the UN Resident Coordinator and the UNDP Resident South Asian Speakers’ Summit at Indore 123

Representative in India, said that there is a whole North-South dilemma or the developed versus developing countries on the role and responsibility in terms of the implementation of SDGs and enabling that implementation. There is a group of countries and India that need to continue this conversation and demand the resolution to this issue because without it a proper implementation of the SDGs agenda in the coming 15 years will be seriously hampered. He further said that for the first time in human history, the SDGs and the Paris Agreement are a global pact to which everybody signed up and to which everybody contributed. Applauding the role of Indian Parliament, he said that he was proud to say that the Parliament of India has now dedicated a day in a Session for the SDGs. He further said that the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has been very clear and forceful about introducing the SDGs agenda as one that India can certainly embrace in its national development strategy which is going to be released literally in the weeks and months to come.

On technology transfer, he said that a two track approach is required. One is reminding the countries of their commitment to allocate ODA at 0.7 per cent, and the other to allocate additional resources for climate change and to take ownership over the responsibility for shared but distinguished responsibilities for the effect of the climate change that is being clearly witnessed today.

Intervening in the discussion, Mr. Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of Parliament of Sri Lanka said that Parliament can play an effective role in ensuring that adequate financial resources are allocated throughout the budget cycle. The Parliamentary Finance Committees are sectoral oversight committees and can play a crucial role in this regard as these Committees are required to analyse the Budget and make recommendations to prioritize in implementation of the SDGs within the national policy. Highlighting the role of Sri Lankan Parliament, he said that they have appointed a high powered select committee of Parliament with the Chairmanship of the Deputy Speaker to enable Parliament to monitor, keep track and report to Parliament, the progress the Government is making in the implementation of the SDGs. It presently is taking steps to establish a Parliamentary Budget office which would analyze resource allocation and provide the Parliament and related Committees with accurate impartial and independent information which is essential in the monitoring process of the implementation of the SDGs.

Participating in the discussion the Speaker of Parliament of Bhutan Mr. Jigme Zangpo said that 37 per cent of world’s poor live in South Asia 124 The Journal of Parliamentary Information and infrastructure gap still remains a herculean challenge. He said that out of 143 targets, 134 SDG targets were included in Bhutan’s 11th Five Year Plan, excluding targets related to Goal 14 Ocean related and Goal 17 in the field of implementation. In an effort to align for 12th Five Year Plan, several consultative meetings with the stakeholders have been initiated. Bhutan is amongst the first priority countries rolling forward implementation of SDGs since adoption in 2015. Bhutan has prioritized three SDGs, namely, goal 1- poverty, goal 13 - climate action and goal 15 - life on land for greater emphasis. These goals were prioritized on the basis of urgency to address the issue of poverty eradication, Bhutan’s commitment to the global commitment to remain carbon-neutral and be a champion by show-casing Bhutan’s success in terms of bio-diversity.

In his Intervention Hon. Ms. Onasari Gharti, the Speaker of Nepal said that the 17 goals endorsed by the UN Members are both comprehensive and inter-connected and that there is a need to localize the developmental activities with the objective targets and standards. The Speaker of Maldives, Mr. Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed expressed that South Asia which is lacking financial resources has plenty of human resources and technical resources which must be utilized to its maximum. The Speaker of Afghanistan, Mr. Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi said that in today’s world while cooperation among the countries remain an undeniable fact, it is only with mutual trust and respect to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and honest cooperation among the countries can bring peace and prosperity to the people of this continent. Afghanistan and the whole region faces transnational threats such as terrorism, extremism and organized crimes and a joint fight against terrorism shall develop a smooth platform towards the recognition and fulfillment of sustainable development goals. Initiating the discussion, on Follow up to the Dhaka Declaration Mr. Saber H. Chowdhury, the IPU President outlined the agenda item and requested the Speakers to present the Action Taken on the Dhaka Declaration adopted on 30 and 31 January 2016. Dwelling on the discussion, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh said that the Dhaka Declaration calls for two sets of responses by the national parliaments: general response to the idea of SDGs, and specific response to tobacco problem. Expressing the commitment of Bangladesh Parliament to achieve the SDGs, particularly the Goals related to health and women empowerment. Dr. Chaudhury said that Bangladesh has devised a comprehensive action plan to implement the SDGs and to monitor their progress. Bangladesh Parliament organized a round table discussion on improving coverage of emergency obstetrics South Asian Speakers’ Summit at Indore 125 and neonatal care. She informed that Bangladesh Parliament is partnering with the IPU on maternal and child health programmes. She further said that as a legislative milestone, Bangladesh has enacted the Bangladesh Nursery and Midwife Council Act, 2016 recognizing midwife as a profession. Pursuing the Dhaka Declaration on Tobacco Free world, legislative measures have been taken by Bangladesh Parliament for pictorial warning on tobacco packets. Sri Lanka has enacted the Sustainable Development Act. It is the first country to have a cabinet ministry for the SDGs. The country is spending additional resources on education and health, particularly for prevention of communicable diseases. Expressing their commitment for achieving the SDGs, Nepal has accorded utmost priority to the SDGs. A Committee of Parliaments has been constituted to suggest the ways and means to implement the SDGs. Maldives is providing free health coverage for the marginalized sections of society. Legislative measures are in the pipeline for enactment of law to control tobacco.

Mr. Jigme Zangpo, Speaker of National Legislative Assembly, Bhutan highlighted the role played by the National Commission for Women and law enforcement agencies, including the Royal Police, for protection of women rights in Bhutan. Several education campaigns have been organized and a series of actions have been taken for women empowerment. Regarding controlling the problem of tobacco, he further informed that Bhutan is tobacco free State, smoking in public place is prohibited in Bhutan. The country has also set up open gymnasiums in every district for promotion of public health and prevention of non-communicable diseases. The Speaker of Afghanistan, Dr. Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi expressed terrorism as a major challenge in achieving the SDGs. Afghanistan Parliament has enacted Anti-Harassment Act for safety and security of women and children. He urged the South Asian Parliaments to extend cooperation and support to Afghanistan for achieving the SDGs. Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha reiterated the commitment of India for achieving the SDGs to make the planet a better place to live in. She informed that the Parliament of India had organized a National Conference of Women Legislators last year to deliberate on women as enablers for achieving the SDGs. Mr. Saber H. Chowdhury, IPU President, summed up the deliberations and stressed on sharing the good practices among national Parliaments. He also emphasized on evolving a mechanism to inform the parliamentarians about the declarations adopted by the IPU. 126 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

The Session-I on Gender Equality as a Critical Factor for Sustainable Development was chaired by the Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury. In her presentation, Ms. Nirmala Buch, Chairperson, National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment, Bhopal, emphasized that gender equality is not only about women but about both the genders. She stressed that although there are policies and programmes for girls and women, change in the mindset of the society is the need of the hour. Dr. Asa Torkelsson, Deputy Representative, UN Women India, MCO Office, New Delhi, Resource Person, stressed that gender equality is essential for inclusive growth and development and that inequality of development is not sustainable.

Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, making an intervention said that more than power-sharing, mindset should change for women’s empowerment. She also cited various schemes of Government of India aimed at gender equality and sustainable development.

Mr. Saber H. Chowdhury, President of IPU made a presentation on Discussion on Regional Cooperation and Interconnectedness amongst South Asian Countries. Alluding to the idea that this Century belonging to Asia as referred to by Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan earlier in her inaugural Address, he said that regional cooperation and interconnectedness will promote regional trade.

Launching the IPU Self-Assessment Toolkit for Parliaments on the SDGs, the IPU President said that the Kit is a means of self-assessment through a series of questions in the framework of Parliament so as to determine monitoring of SDGs. He said that the Tool Kit is a guide to action and is not binding.

Presenting his perspective on Dealing Effectively with the Challenge of Climate Change and Natural Disasters, Dr. Balakrishna Pisupati, Vice Chancellor, Trans-Disciplinary University, Bengaluru, expressed that the Paris Agreement was a ground breaking decision which set the maximum limit in terms of climate change which is acceptable for countries and to regularly review the progress of commitments. The Paris agreement looks at self-differentiation as there is an existing divide between developed and developing countries. The earlier protocol had Annex I and Annex II countries in terms of their common but differentiated responsibilities. The Climate Agreement in Paris actually moved a step forward in looking at self-differentiation as well as flexibility at the level of countries so that the split between developed and developing countries can be, to the extent possible, minimized and that has been a major outcome and a major way forward for a lot of people who actually moved forward on this South Asian Speakers’ Summit at Indore 127 entire discussion on climate change. Main outcome from Paris has been the accountability issue. The focus has been not just on compliance but also on transparent reporting and lastly and importantly financing. Currently, countries are beginning to look forward on how do they deal with these three elements that have been agreed to in Paris? A lot of countries already have national climate law and policies in place while some are in the process of finalizing and developing laws and policies.

In his presentation, Prof. Santosh Kumar, Executive Director, SAARC Disaster Management Centre talked about how the entire development discourse has to go on the development cycle and leading to many bad impacts so that climate change has become a concern. He expressed that the South Asia region is at tectonic risk - the entire Himalayan region to the north east down to the south to Maldives and Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. This is a hydro-metrological risk that is going to be very high. Urbanisation is a developmental need and by 2050 urban cities will have 30 per cent more population, increasing the risk. How legislation and the building by-laws can play a major role in actually protecting those kinds of risk? By and large the geo-physical environment is getting heavily loaded into risk.

Intervening in the discussion, Mr. Jigme Zangpo, Speaker, National Assembly, Bhutan said that the Constitution of Bhutan mandates that forest coverage for all the time to be maintained is minimum 60 per cent. Right now, this is at 72 per cent. Bhutan’s annual green gas emission is around 2.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide against sequestration by forest capacity of 6.3 million tonnes. Bhutan being in the Himalayan region, there are so many vulnerabilities also like not seeing snow for the last 10 to 15 years.

Intervening in the discussion, Mr. Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed, Speaker of Parliament, Maldives expressed that Maldives has to set up the Green Climate Fund as soon as possible. Maldives is on an average about 6 feet above sea level and have sensitized the issue from early on and some of the resorts are now adopting environment friendly energy. Recently, there is one resort or hotel which is exclusively using solar energy, he added.

In his presentation, Dr. M. Thambidurai, Hon’ble Deputy-Speaker, Lok Sabha said that India’s contribution to the conclusion of the Paris Agreement and its timely ratification that helped the Agreement come into force on 4th November 2016 has been widely appreciated. The early entry into force of the Agreement has given a thrust to global efforts to combat climate change. Environmental degradation and disturbance of 128 The Journal of Parliamentary Information the ecological balance is likely to lead to the increased possibilities of varied forms of natural disasters. At the regional level India hosted the first Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2016, where more than 50 Asia-Pacific countries came together and adopted the New Delhi declaration as well as Asia Regional Plan to give added impetus to the implementation of the Sendai Framework. He further said that Prime Minister has outlined a ten-point agenda to guide the practical implementation of DRR efforts. South Asian countries have rightly recognized the challenge posed by climate change and recurring natural disasters in the region and the consequent imperative of a joint approach in relief, rescue and rehabilitation. The need to strengthen specialized regional centres and their institutional linkages with national institutions in the region, to facilitate sharing of knowledge, information and capacity building programmes in climate change related areas was pointed out.

Intervening in the discussion on the issues, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Hon. Speaker, Bangladesh Parliament said that, Bangladesh located at the bottom of the three major river systems, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna (GBM), bound on the South by the Bay of Bengal is very much vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and is one of the most vulnerable countries of the world. She added that the global climate risk index 2016 published by a Berlin based international organization German Watch in 2016 has ranked Bangladesh at the sixth position amongst the most at-risk countries of the world from extreme events due to climate change. Bangladesh is very much conscious about this fact and is making every effort to cope with the adverse impact of climate change and to ensure the protection of people. Over the last three decades, the Government of Bangladesh has been working to prevent the natural disasters and extensive investment programmes have been undertaken, including flood management schemes, coastal holders, cyclone and flood shelter and the raising of roads and highways above flood level and ensuring safe drinking water, particularly in the rural areas in times of these hazards. It has developed state of art warning systems for floods, cyclones and storm surges and it is expanding community based disaster preparedness. Climate resilient varieties of rice and other crops are also being developed through extensive research initiatives and also how to grow crops in the southern part of Bangladesh where there is high salinity in the water.

In her address at the closing ceremony, Speaker in Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan said that the adverse effect of population pressure and over-exploitation of the limited natural resources are clearly visible everywhere. On the one hand, there is a need for development while on South Asian Speakers’ Summit at Indore 129 the other hand, environment needs to be protected and imbalance between the two can trigger massive negative consequences. Taking the threads forward in Indore from Dhaka, it has been discussed at length the ways in which Parliaments can ensure that adequate financial and other resources accompany implementation of national and regional SDGs strategies.

She said that inequality is a sensitive challenge for all and is complex, representing inequality, discrimination, threat perception and violence. Women rights are indeed human rights. Women have a right to live with dignity and equality. Women must enjoy equal access to education, economic resources and employment. Women must enjoy the right to life without fear of threat or violence.

At the end of the Summit the Indore Declaration was adopted. The Declaration which is reproduced in this issue, inter alia called upon the Parliaments of South Asia to set aside one day in a Session for deliberations on SDGs.

*********** 130 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

5

PARLIAMENTARY EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA

Launch of the Global Appeal 2017 to end Stigma and Discrimination Against Persons affected by Leprosy: The launch of the Global Appeal 2017 to end stigma and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy was held in Delhi on 30 January, 2017. Dr. C. P. Thakur, Member of Rajya Sabha led the parliamentary Delegation to the event. Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal and Dr. K. Kamaraj, Members of Lok Sabha were the delegates who attended the programme. Smt. Kalpana Sharma, Joint Secretary, Lok Sabha Secretariat was secretary to the delegation.

South Asian Speakers’ Summit on ‘Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’: The South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on 18-20 February 2017. It was jointly organized by the Parliament of India and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). The Summit aimed at identifying specific actions that will advance the integration of the SDGs in the region. The Speakers of the national Parliaments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka deliberated on the theme ‘Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Resources for the SDGs’. The ‘Indore Declaration’ was adopted during the Summit.

Meeting of 38th Session of the Steering Committee of Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organisation (WTO): A meeting of the Steering Committee of Parliamentary Conference on the WTO held in Brussels on 9th March 2017. Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, MP, Lok Sabha, and the Chairman, Standing Committee of Information Technology and the Member of the Steering Committee of Parliamentary Conference on the WTO participated in the Meeting. During the event, discussions were held on the themes: (i) Update on Recent Developments at the WTO; (ii) Trade as a Tool to Promote Human Rights; and (iii) The Impact of the United States 2016 Presidential Election on the WTO.

Meeting of the Standing Committee of Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA): The Meeting of the Standing Committee of Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) was held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 13 to 17 March, Parliamentary Events and Activities 131

2017. Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Member of Lok Sabha, was the Leader of the Delegation. Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, MP, Lok Sabha; and Shri Swapan Dasgupta, MP, Rajya Sabha were the members of the Delegation who attended the Meeting. During the event, following resolutions have been inter alia adopted: (i) Draft Resolution on United Front Against Terrorism and Violent Extremism; (ii) Draft Resolution on Building Prosperity in Asia Through Friendship and Cooperation; (iii) Draft Resolution on Asian Parliaments and Governments Together for Prosperity in Asia; and (iv) Draft Resolution on Significant Political Developments in Asia. Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC): The Meeting of the Standing Committee of the CSPOC was held in London, UK from 10 to 14 January, 2017. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan accompanied by the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha, attended the meeting. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha suggested two topics, viz (i) Strengthening Parliament as an Institution of Accountability; and (ii) Strengthening Parliamentary Research for Effective Legislative Functioning, in the meeting for inclusion in the Agenda Topics of the next CSPOC scheduled to be held in The Seychelles in January, 2018. Both the topics were approved. The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Working Group Meeting at Wilton Park, United Kingdom: The CWP Working Group Meeting was held at Wilton Park, United Kingdom from 24 to 27 February, 2017. Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi, Member of Lok Sabha and member of CWP Steering Committee (in CWP International) from CPA India Region, and Smt. Kavitha Kalvakuntla, members of Lok Sabha attended the CWP Working Group meeting at Wilton Park, United Kingdom from 24 to 27 February, 2017 from CPA India Union Branch (Parliament of India). Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi, member of Lok Sabha was the Lead Speaker on the topic “Female Representation in Parliament - Overcoming the Challenges” in the meeting. In the meeting discussions were held on the following topics: (i) Female representation in parliament – overcoming the challenges; (ii) Break out groups: strategies to increase female representation in parliament and how to replicate good practice; (iii) Best practice: lessons to learn, and how to share them; (iv) Regional perspectives and the way forward; (v) Establishing the CWP’s gender policy priorities and how to achieve them; (vi) Break out groups: How the CWP can best address key gender Priorities; and (vii) Strengthening networks and sharing knowledge: lessons learned. Meeting of the CPA Expert Committee on the status of CPA: A Meeting of the CPA Expert Committee on the status of CPA was held in London from 9 to 12 March, 2017. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra 132 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

Mahajan nominated Dr. Kirit Somaiya, Member of Lok Sabha as the Representative from CPA India Region to serve in the CPA Expert Committee Meeting on the Status of CPA. Dr. Somaiya attended the meeting of the CPA Expert Committee. He presented a brief Report about important decisions taken at the meeting. A copy of the Report was forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs for consideration.

BIRTH ANNIVERSARIES OF NATIONAL LEADERS On the birth anniversaries of national leaders whose portraits adorn the Central Hall of Parliament House, and also on the birth anniversaries of former Speakers of Lok Sabha, functions are organized under the auspices of the Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG) to pay tributes to the leaders. Booklets containing the profiles of these leaders, prepared by the Library and Reference, Research, Documentation and Information Service (LARRDIS) of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, are distributed on the occasion. The birth anniversaries of the following leaders were celebrated during the period from 1 January to 31 March 2017: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, a function was held on 23 January 2017 in the Central Hall of Parliament House. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi; the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar; the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi; the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri S. S. Ahluwalia; and former Deputy Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, Shri L. K. Advani; Members of Parliament; former Members of Parliament; and the Secretary-General of Lok Sabha, Shri Anoop Mishra also paid floral tributes at the portrait of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The family members of Netaji were also present on the occasion. Lala Lajpat Rai: On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai, a function was held on 28 January 2017 in the Central Hall of Parliament House. The Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan; the Union Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Raj Nath Singh; the Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri S.S. Ahluwalia; former Deputy Prime Minister and Chairperson, Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, Shri L.K. Advani; several Members of Parliament; former Members of Parliament; and the Secretary-General of Lok Sabha, Shri Anoop Mishra paid floral tributes to Lala Lajpat Rai. Parliamentary Events and Activities 133

Shri M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar: On the occasion of the birth anniversary of the former Speaker of Lok Sabha, Shri M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, a function was held on 4 February 2017 in the Central Hall of Parliament House. The Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan; former Deputy Prime Minister and Chairperson, Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, Shri L.K. Advani; Members of Parliament; former Members of Parliament; the Secretary-General of Lok Sabha, Shri Anoop Mishra; and the Officers of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats also paid floral tributes at the portrait of Shri Ayyangar. Smt. Sarojini Naidu: On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Smt. Sarojini Naidu, a function was held on 13 February 2017 in the Central Hall of Parliament House. The former Deputy Prime Minister and Chairperson, Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, Shri L. K. Advani led Members of Parliament and former Members of Parliament in paying floral tributes at the portrait of Smt. Sarojini Naidu. The Secretary-General of Lok Sabha, Shri Anoop Mishra and Senior Officers of the Lok Sabha Secretariat also paid tributes to Smt. Sarojini Naidu.

Shri Morarji Desai: On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Shri Morarji Desai, former Prime Minister of India, a function was held on 28 February 2017 in the Central Hall of Parliament House. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi; Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan; Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker, Dr. M. Thambidurai; Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Prof. P.J. Kurien; Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports (Independent Charge) and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Vijay Goel; former Deputy Prime Minister and Chairperson, Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, Shri L.K. Advani; Several Members of Parliament; former Members of Parliament; and the Secretary- General of Lok Sabha, Shri Anoop Mishra paid floral tributes to Shri Morarji Desai.

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia: On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, a function was held on 23 March 2017 in the Central Hall of Parliament. The Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan; the Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley; the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan; Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Prof. P.J. Kurien; and the former Deputy Prime Minister and Chairperson, Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, Shri L.K. Advani; Several Union Ministers; Members of Parliament; former Members of Parliament; and the Secretary-General of Lok Sabha, Shri Anoop Mishra paid floral tributes. 134 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

EXCHANGE OF PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS

Foreign Parliamentary Delegation visiting India Namibia: A 6-member Parliamentary Delegation from Namibia led by Hon. Prof. Peter H. Katjaviv, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Parliament of Namibia visited India from 27 to 31 March 2017. The Delegation called on the Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan on 27 March 2017. The Delegation witnessed the proceedings of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in Session from the ‘Special Box’ on 28 March 2017. On the same day they called on Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Hon’ble President of India and Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Hon’ble Vice President of India and the Chairman, Rajya Sabha.

Call-on Meeting with the Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha IPU: H.E. Mr. Saber H. Chowdhury, President IPU, called on Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan on 30 January 2017 at her residence i.e, 20 Akbar Road in New Delhi.

The Republic of Korea: Mr. Baek Seung Joo, Korean Congressman called on Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan on 31 January 2017 at her residence i.e, 20 Akbar Road in New Delhi. Mexico: Senator Teofilo Torres Corzo, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Asia-Pacific Region of the House of Senators of Mexican Parliament called on Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan on 15 March 2017 in Parliament House.

PARLIAMENT MUSEUM During the period 1 January to 31 March 2017, a total of 10026 visitors visited the Parliament Museum. Apart from the general visitors, students from 74 schools and colleges from all over the country also visited the Museum. Parliamentary Delegations from Taiwan, Sudan, Myanmar, Nepal, Canada, Mexico and Namibia too visited the Museum. As many as 337198 visitors have visited the Museum between 5 September 2006 (i.e. the date of opening of the Museum for the general public) and 31 March 2017.

BUREAU OF PARLIAMENTARY STUDIES AND TRAINING During the period from 1 January to 31 March 2017, the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training organized the following Courses/ Programmes for Members/Delegates/ Probationers/Journalists/Students: Parliamentary Events and Activities 135

32nd International Training Programme in Legislative Drafting: The 32nd International Training Programme in Legislative Drafting for Foreign Parliamentary Officials/Officials of Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Secretariat/ State Legislature Secretariats was organized from 09 February to 10 March 2017 which was attended by 44 officials from 27 countries. The Programme is funded under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)/Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plan (SCAAP) by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. The Programme is also attended by one official from Lok Sabha Secretariat and three officials from Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

Appreciation Courses: Five Appreciation Courses in Parliamentary Processes and Procedures were organized for: (i) Ninety-eight Officer Trainees of the Indian Audit & Accounts Service; Probationers of Indian Civil Accounts Service, Indian Defence Accounts Service and Indian P & T Finance and Accounts Service, Probationers of Indian Corporate Law Service and Officer Trainees of Indian Economic Service from 06 to 08 February 2017; (ii) Sixty-six Probationers of the Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers(IRSSE) and Indian Railways Account Service (IRAS) from 13 to 17 February 2017; (iii) Forty-three Probationary Officers of Indian Railways Traffic Service (IRTS) from 15 to 17 March 2017; (iv) One hundred sixty eight Probationers of 70th Batch of Indian Revenue Service from National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur, from 20 to 24 March 2017; (v) Fourteen Officers of the Competition Commission of India and Probationers of the Indian Defence Estates Service, from 21 to 23 March 2017.

Professional Development Programmes for/by Officers of the Lok Sabha Secretariat: (i) Three Officers of Lok Sabha Secretariat attended the 6th Hindi Conference and Workshop organized at Guwahati, Assam from 19 to 20 January 2017; (ii) Two Officers of Lok Sabha Secretariat attended the All India Museums Conference organised by Museums Association of India at Ahmedabad, Gujarat from 27 to 29 January 2017; (iii) Three Officers of Lok Sabha Secretariat attended the Tenth Hindi Conference and Training Programme Organised by the Rajbhasha Academy, Mysore, Karnataka, from 8 to 10 February 2017.

Training Courses for Officials of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha & State Legislature Secretariats: (i) Forty Officials of Lok Sabha Secretariat attended Training Classes in High-Speed Shorthand in English and Hindi from 24 January to 22 February 2017; (ii) Twenty-seven Officers of Parliament Security Service attended a Training Programme from 20 to 22 February 2017. 136 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

Training Courses in Parliamentary Processes and Procedures for Group-A Officers of the Maharashtra Civil Service: Eighty-nine Group-A Officers of the Maharashtra Civil Service, Mumbai, attended a Training Programme in Parliamentary Processes and Procedures from 6 to 10 March 2017. Familiarization Programme for Media Persons: Forty-seven Media persons accredited to the State Legislative Assembly of Odisha attended the Tenth Familiarization Programme in Parliamentary Processes and Procedures, from 7 to 9 February 2017. Study Visits - (a) International: (i) Thirteen Member Parliamentary Delegation and Politicians from Myanmar, attended Study Visit on 17 February 2017; (ii) Fifteen Member Delegation of International Relations and Labour Committee of Nepalese Parliament, attended Study Visit on 08 March 2017; (iii) Seventeen Participants of Foreign Service Institute for South Sudanese Diplomats, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, attended Study Visit on 14 February 2017; (iv) Fifteen Senior Journalists/Editors from China, attended Study Visit on 15 February 2017. In all, 60 participants attended these study visits. (b) National: (i) Forty-five Students of SRCC and Students of University of Wisconsin, USA, on 09 January 2017; (ii) Eighty-four Indian Origin person Diaspora Youth under the ‘Know India Programme (KIP)’ of the Ministry of External Affairs, on 13 January 2017; (iii) Seventy-seven Students of the Delhi Metropolitan Education, Noida, U.P, on 17 January 2017; (iv) Fourteen Scientists and Technologists, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), on 18 January 2017; (v) Eighty ASOs from Institute of Secretariat Training and Management (ISTM), New Delhi, on 18 January 2017; (vi) Seventy-nine Tribal Representatives from All over India sponsored by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, on 25 January 2017; (vii) Fifty-three Students of Fr. Agnel Jan Kalyan Kendra, Khoda Colony, Ghaziabad, UP on 27 January 2017; (viii) One hundred thirteen Students/Teachers of Bhavana Public School, Washim, Maharashtra, on 01 February 2017; (ix) Twenty- Six members of Library Committee of Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Bhopal, on 2 February 2017; (x) Eighteen Students of N.B. Thakur Law College, Nashik, on 2 February 2017; (xi) Seventy-six Students/teachers of the Department of Economics and Political Science, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, on 3 February 2017; (xii) Forty Students of St. Peter’s College, Kerala, on 3 February 2017; (xiii) Forty-six Students of Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, M.P., on 3 February 2017; (xiv) One hundred sixty eight Students/Teachers of ITIHAAS, New Delhi, on 06 February 2017; (xv) Sixty-five Assistants Section Officers (Direct Recruits) of Central Parliamentary Events and Activities 137

Secretariat Service undergoing training at the Institute of Secretariat Training & Management (ISTM), New Delhi, on 6 February 2017; (xvi) Forty-nine Students of RTMNU’S Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Law, Nagpur, Maharashtra on 7 February 2017; (xvii) Thirteen Students of IME Law College, Ghaziabad, U.P. on 7 February 2017; (xviii) Sixty-six Students of the B.S. Anangpuria Institute of Education, Faridabad, on 7 February 2017; (xix) Fifty-seven Students of J. R. Media Institute, Delhi, on 9 February 2017; (xx) Twenty-two Service Officers undergoing Training Programme at DHTI, Ministry of Defence, on 9 February 2017; (xxi) Thirty-one Students of Political Science of Sree Kerala Varma College, Thrissur, Kerala, on 13 February 2017; (xxii) Thirty-five Students and faculty of Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s College of Commerce, Pune, Maharashtra on 15 February 2017; (xxiii) Seventy-three Students of Padala Rama Reddi Law College, Hyderabad, on 16 February 2017; (xxiv) Forty-four Assistant Provident Fund Commissioners undergoing a Training Programme at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Academy of Social Security, on 16 February 2017; (xxv) Sixty-six Students of Department of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh, on 17 February 2017; (xxvi) Twenty-eight Students of Department of Library and Information Science, Karnatak University, on 17 February 2017; (xxvii) Fifty-four Students of Jagat Vidya Sanatan Dharm Girls Sr. Secondary School, Karol Bagh, New Delhi, on 17 February 2017; (xxviii) Thirty-two participants of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries attending Capacity Building Programme on International Economic Issues and Development Policies (IEIDP), on 21 February 2017; (xxix) Thirty-two Students of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, on 21 February 2017; (xxx) Fifty- nine Students & Teachers of Devi Vilasam Teacher Training Institute, Kerala, on 23 February 2017; (xxxi) Thirty-four Students of Abasaheb Garware College, Pune, on 27 February 2017; (xxxii) Fifty-nine Students and Faculty Members of the Adikavi Nannaya University, Andhra Pradesh, on 1 March 2017; (xxxiii) Fifty-six Students and Professors of Indraprastha College for Women, New Delhi, on 2 March 2017; (xxxiv) Fifty-six Students and teachers from Institute of Secretariat Training and Management (ISTM), on 2 March 2017; (xxxv) Sixty-five Students of Department of Political Science, Zakir Hussain Delhi College, University of Delhi, on 02 March 2017; (xxxvi) Fifty-four Students of Bimal Chandra College of Law, West Bengal, on 2 March 2017; (xxxvii) Thirty-two Students from Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, Chandigarh, on 3 March 2017; (xxxviii) Thirty Overseas Professionals attending Training Programme at Human Settlement Management Institute (HSMI), New Delhi, on 7 March 2017; (xxxix) Ten Students of Public Administration Department of Political Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, on 9 March 2017; (xl) Fifty- three Students of Post Graduate Government College, Chandigarh, on 138 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

10 March 2017; (xli) Six Officers and Flight Cadets (Trainee Officer) of Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, on 10 March 2017; (xlii) Eighteen Students/ Researchers of the Centre for Media Studies, School of Social Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, on 14 March 2017; (xliii) Fifty-four Students of Engineers/ faculty Members of the Adhalrao Patil Institute of Management and Research, Pune, Maharashtra, on 15 March 2017; (xliv) Twenty-four Students of Government Law College, Mumbai, on 16 March 2017; (xlv) One hundred thirty newly recruited Stenographers undergoing training at the Institute of Secretariat Training & Management (ISTM), New Delhi, on 21 March 2017; (xxvi) Fifty-two Students and Faculty Members of the Department of Library and Information Science, University of West Bengal, on 21 March 2017; (xlvii) Fifteen Students of TMV’s Lokmanya Tilak Law College, Pune, on 22 March 2017; (xlviii) Thirty-six Students of Department of Library & Information Science, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar, on 22 March 2017; (xlix) Twenty-eight Assistant Section Officers and Service Officers upto the rank of Colonels and equivalent attending Programme at Defence Headquarter Training Institute, New Delhi, on 22 March 2017; (l) Forty-eight Students of the Air Force School, New Delhi, on 22 March 2017; (li) Thirty Members of the IAS officers Wives Association, on 22 March 2017; (lii) Seventy-eight Students of Durgapur Institute of Legal Studies, Siliguri, West Bengal, on 23 March 2017; (liii) Forty-eight Students of Durgapur Institute of Legal Studies, Burdwan, West Bengal, on 23 March 2017; (liv) Forty-eight Students of the Air Force School, New Delhi, on 23 March 2017; (lv) Forty-one Students and staff of Namdar Gopal Krishna Gokhale School of Communication and Journalism- HPT Arts & RYK Science College, Nashik, on 24 March 2017; (lvi) Forty-three Senior officers from MES, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, on 24 March 2017; (lvii) Sixteen Students/faculty Members of Department of Teachers Training & Non Formal Education, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, on 24 March 2017; (lviii) One hundred seven Officers equivalent to Joint Secretary and Brigadier, undergoing Training Course at the National Defence College, New Delhi, on 27 March 2017; (lix)Twenty-nine Students and Teachers of K.R. Mangalam University, Gurgaon*, on 28 March 2017; (lx) Twenty-six Law Students of Ansal University, Gurgaon*, Haryana, on 28 March 2017; (lxi) One hundred twenty six Students of Department of Law, Panjab University, Chandigarh, on 29 March 2017; (lxii) Twenty-eight GAIL Executives, Corporate, L&PA, NOIDA, UP on 30 March 2017; (lxiii) Forty-two Teachers of the Air force School, Subroto Park, New Delhi, on 30 March 2017; (lxiv) Twenty Professors and Law Students from Stanford University School of Law, USA and OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat, 30 March 2017. In all, 3187 participants attended these Study Visits.

* Now known as Gurugram Procedural Matters 139

6

PROCEDURAL MATTERS

LOK SABHA Instances when the Chair allowed Members to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House: On 6 February, 2017, during discussion on the Motion for Thanks on the President’s Address, the Chair permitted members to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House. Accordingly, 40 members laid their speeches on the Table of the House. On 7 February, 2017, during discussion on the Motion for Thanks on President’s Address, the Chair permitted members to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House. Accordingly, 29 members laid their speeches on the Table of the House. On 14 March, 2017, during discussion on the Demands for Grants in respect of the Union Budget-2017-18 under the control of Ministry of Railways, the Chair permitted members to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House. Accordingly, 21 members laid their speeches on the Table of the House. On 15 March, 2017, during discussion on the Demands for Grants in respect of the Union Budget-2017-18 under the control of Ministry of Railways, the Chair permitted members to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House. Accordingly, 67 members laid their speeches on the Table of the House. On 16 March, 2017, during discussion on the Demands for Grants in respect of the Union Budget-2017-18 under control of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the Chair permitted members to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House. Accordingly, 70 members laid their speeches on the Table of the House. On 17 March, 2017, during discussion on the Demands for Grants in respect of the Union Budget-2017-18 under the control of Ministry of Defence, the Chair permitted members to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House. Accordingly, 50 members laid their speeches on the Table of the House. On 17 March, 2017, during discussion on the Demands for Grants in respect of the Union Budget-2017-18 under the control of Ministry of 140 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

Home Affairs, the Chair permitted members to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House. Accordingly, 31 members laid their speeches on the Table of the House. On 20 March, 2017, during discussion on the Supplementary Demands for Grants in respect of the Union Budget-2016-17, the Chair permitted members to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House. Accordingly, 32 members laid their speeches on the Table of the House. Instance when the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, participated in the discussion on Finance Bill, 2017 on behalf of his party: On 21 March, 2017, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, participated in the discussion on the Finance Bill, 2017 on behalf of his party. Ruling by the Chair regarding Rule 219: On 21 March 2017, when the motion for consideration of the Finance Bill, 2017, was moved by the Minister of Finance, Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri N.K. Premachandran, Member, raised objections to the process of inclusion of amendments to various Acts through the Finance Bill, 2017 by violating Rule 219 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. In this regard, the Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan made the following observation:-

“Hon’ble Members would recall that during last year when similar objections were raised at the time of consideration of the Finance Bill, 2016, I had observed that as per rule 219, the primary object of a Finance Bill is to give effect to the financial proposals of the Government. There is no doubt about it. At the same time, this Rule does not rule out the possibility of inclusion of non-taxation proposals. Therefore, I have accepted this. The Finance Bill may contain non-taxation proposals also. Now, another thing is, no doubt, every effort should be made to separate taxation measures from other matters. It should be done. But as has been very widely explained by the Finance Minister, I need not say the things again and again…I am giving my ruling. So, incidental provisions can be made. That is why, keeping in view that rule 219 does not specifically bar inclusion of non-taxation proposals in a Finance Bill, I rule out the Point of Order.” ********** Parliamentary and Constitutional Developments 141

7

PARLIAMENTARY AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS (1 JANUARY TO 31 MARCH 2017)

Events covered in this Feature are based primarily on reports appearing in the daily newspapers and internet sources, as such, the Lok Sabha Secretariat does not accept any responsibility for their accuracy, authenticity or veracity. —Editor

INDIA

DEVELOPMENTS AT THE UNION Parliament Session: The Eleventh Session of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha and the Two Hundred and Forty Second Session of the Rajya Sabha (the Budget Session of Parliament) commenced on 31 January, 2017. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha adjourned for recess on 9 February, 2017 till 9 March, 2017. Resignation of Union Minister: On 13 March, 2017, the Union Minister, Shri Manohar Parrikar resigned as the Minister of Defence. The Defence portfolio was allotted to the Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley as additional charge.

Death of Lok Sabha Member: On 1 February, 2017, Shri E. Ahamed, Member of the Indian National Muslim League from Malappuram, Kerala, passed away. Rajya Sabha Election: Election for a seat to Rajya Sabha was held on 10 March, 2017. Shri Manish Gupta of the All India Trinamool Congress, declared elected, from West Bengal. His term as a Member of Rajya Sabha commenced w.e.f. 14 March, 2017. He took oath on 20 March 2017. Death of Rajya Sabha Member: On 28 February, 2017, Haji Abdul Salam, Member of the Indian National Congress Party from Manipur, passed away. Resignation of Rajya Sabha Member: On 21 March, 2017, Shri Bishnu Charan Das, Member of the Biju Janata Dal from Odisha, resigned. 142 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

AROUND THE STATES

ARUNACHAL PRADESH Political Development: On 2 January, 2017, the Chief Minister, Shri Pema Khandu, dropped three Ministers, two Advisors and five Parliamentary Secretaries from his government. Resignation of Governor: On 26 January, 2017, Shri V. Shanmuganathan resigned as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. New Governor: On 28 January, 2017, the Governor of Nagaland, Shri Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya was sworn in as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.

BIHAR Expulsion of JD(U) State Vice President: On 28 February, 2017, the Janata Dal (United) expelled Shri Satish Kumar, the Bihar Unit Vice President of the Party for anti-party activities.

GOA Assembly Election Results: The election to 40-seat Goa Legislative Assembly was held on 4 February, 2017. The results were announced on 11 March, 2017. The party position following the election was as follows: Indian National Congress-17; Bharatiya Janata Party-13; Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party-3; Goa Forward Party-3; Nationalist Congress Party-1; and Others-3. New Chief Minister: On 14 March, 2017, Shri Manohar Parrikar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Goa. Along with him, 9 Ministers took oath of office. Political Development: On 16 March, 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party led Government won the confidence vote in the State Legislative Assembly. New Speaker: On 22 March, 2017, Shri Pramod Sawant was elected as the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly.

JAMMU AND KASHMIR Reshuffle of Cabinet: On 17 February, 2017, the Chief Minister, Ms. Mehbooba Mufti effected a reshuffle in the Cabinet. The Chief Minister inducted Shri Altaf Bukhari in the Cabinet. Ms. Mehbooba Mufti assigned the portfolios of the Ministry of State Works to Shri Nayeem Akhtar, the Ministry of Education to Shri Altaf Bukhari, the Ministry of Horticulture to Shri Basharat Bukhari, and the Ministry of Revenue and Relief to Shri A. R. Veeri. Parliamentary and Constitutional Developments 143

KERALA

Resignation of Minister: On 26 March, 2017, the Transport Minister, Shri A. K. Saseendran resigned over an alleged scandal.

MANIPUR

Assembly Election Results: The election to 60-seat Manipur Legislative Assembly was held on 4 and 8 March, 2017. The results were announced on 11 March, 2017. The party position following the election was as follows: Indian National Congress-28; Bharatiya Janata Party-21; Naga Peoples Front-4; National People’s Party-4; All India Trinamool Congress-1; Lok Jan Shakti Party-1; and Independent-1.

New Chief Minister: On 15 March, 2017, Shri Nongthombam Biren Singh was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Manipur. Along with him, 8 Ministers took oath of office.

New Speaker: On 20 March, 2017, Shri Yumnam Khemchand Singh was elected as the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly.

Political Development: On 20 March, 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party led Government won the confidence vote in the State Legislative Assembly.

MEGHALAYA

Resignation of Governor: On 26 January, 2017, Shri V. Shanmuganathan resigned as the Governor of Meghalaya.

New Governor: On 28 January, 2017, the Governor of Assam, Shri Banwarilal Purohit was sworn in as the Governor of Meghalaya.

NAGALAND

Resignation of Chief Minister: On 19 February, 2017, Shri T. R. Zeliang resigned as the Chief Minister of Nagaland.

New Chief Minister: On 22 February, 2017, Shri Shurhozelie Liezietsu was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Nagaland.

PUNJAB

Assembly Election Results: The election to 117-seat Punjab Legislative Assembly was held on 4 February, 2017. The results were announced on 11 March, 2017. The party position following the election was as follows: Indian National Congress-77; Aam Aadmi Party-20; Shiromani Akali Dal- 15; Bharatiya Janata Party-3; and Lok Insaaf Party-2. 144 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

New Chief Minister: On 16 March, 2017, Captain Amarinder Singh was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Punjab. Along with him, 7 Cabinet Ministers and two Ministers of State took oath of office. New Speaker: On 27 March, 2017, Rana Kanwar Pal Singh was elected as the Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

TAMIL NADU Resignation of Chief Minister: On 5 February, 2017, Shri O. Panneerselvam resigned as the Chief Minister. New Chief Minister: On 16 February, 2017, Shri Edappadi K. Palaniswami was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Along with him 30 Ministers took oath of office. Political Development: On 18 February, 2017, the Chief Minister, Shri Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s Government won the confidence vote in the Assembly with 122 members voted in favour and 11 members voted against the Motion.

UTTARAKHAND Assembly Election Results: The elections to 70-seat Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly were held on 15 February, 2017. The results were announced on 11 March, 2017. The party position following the election was as follows: Bharatiya Janata Party-57; Indian National Congress- 11; and Others-2. New Chief Minister: On 18 March, 2017, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Along with him, 9 Ministers took oath of office.

UTTAR PRADESH Political Development: On 1 January, 2017, the Samajwadi Party declared the Chief Minister, Shri Akhilesh Yadav as the New National President of the Party. On the same day the Samajwadi Party Supremo Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav expelled the General Secretary, Shri Ram Gopal Yadav, over the illegal act of making Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Shri Akhilesh Yadav the new National President. On 16 January, 2017, the Election Commission allotted the ‘Bicycle’ symbol to the Chief Minister, Shri Akhilesh Yadav for having majority in the Party’s organizational and legislative structures. Expulsion of Minister: On 26 February, 2017, the Governor, Shri Ram Naik expelled the Minister, Shri Vijay Mishra for joining the Bahujan Samaj Party. Parliamentary and Constitutional Developments 145

Assembly Election Results: The elections to 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly were held in seven phases on 11, 15, 19, 23 and 27 February and 4 and 8 March, 2017. The results were announced on 11 March 2017. The party position following the election was as follows: Bharatiya Janata Party-312; Samajwadi Party-47; Bahujan Samaj Party- 19; Apna Dal (S)-9; Indian National Congress-7; and Others-9.

New Chief Minister: On 19 March, 2017, Shri Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Along with him, 2 Deputy Chief Ministers and 47 Ministers took oath of office. New Speaker: On 30 March, 2017, Shri Hriday Narayan Dikshit was elected as the Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

EVENTS ABROAD

EAST TIMOR Presidential Election: On 20 March, 2017, Mr. Francisco Guterres was elected to the post of President.

GAMBIA New President: On 19 January, 2017, Mr. Adama Barrow was sworn in as the new President of Gambia.

MAURITIUS Resignation of Prime Minister: On 21 January, 2017, the Prime Minister, Mr. Anerood Jugnauth resigned from his post. New Prime Minister: On 23 January, 2017, the President, Mr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim appointed Mr. Pravind Jugnauth as the new Prime Minister.

SOUTH KOREA Removal of President: On 10 March, 2017, the Constitutional Court of South Korea removed President Ms. Park Geun-hye from the office over a graft charge.

TURKMENISTAN New President: On 17 February, 2017, Mr. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was sworn in as the President of Turkmenistan. ************ 146 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

8

SESSIONAL REVIEW

SIXTEENTH LOK SABHA

ELEVENTH SESSION The Eleventh Session of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha, which was also the Budget Session, witnessed several significant events. The two-part Session commenced on 31 January, 2017 and was adjourned sine die on 12 April, 2017. As per tradition, the Budget Session usually begins in the last week of February and continues till mid-May with a recess in between. However, for the first time in the country’s legislative history, the Budget Session of 2017 was advanced to 31 January. In a historic move, the Union Budget was presented on 1 February, 2017, almost a month ahead of the usual date in the past, to enable the Parliament to avoid a Vote on Account and pass a single Appropriation Bill for the year 2017-18, before the close of the financial year. Another significant development was the presentation of an integrated Budget, that is, the merger of the Railways Budget with the General Budget, thereby discontinuing a 92-year old practice of presentation of two separate budgets. In all, there were 29 (twenty-nine) sittings during the Session, spread over 176 Hours and 39 Minutes. The First part of the Session commenced on 31 January and adjourned on 9 February, 2017 to enable the Departmentally Related Standing Committees to examine the Demands for Grants relating to various Ministries/Departments and to submit their reports. The Second part of the Session began on 9 March and concluded on 12 April, 2017. The House was prorogued by the President of India on 12 April, 2017. A brief account of the important discussions and other business transacted during the Eleventh Session is given below.

A. DISCUSSIONS/STATEMENTS Motion of Thanks to the President for his Address to the Members: On 31 January, 2017, the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee addressed the Members of both the Houses in the Central Hall of Parliament House. The Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address was moved by Sessional Review 147

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Union Minister of State of the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism. The discussion took place on 3, 6 and 7 February, 2017. Moving the motion on 6 February 2017, Dr. Mahesh Sharma said that the Hon’ble President, in his address, has delineated the action plans, efforts and the public welfare schemes to be undertaken by the government in future. He said that announcements during the last 70 years have remained mere announcements. Efforts for achieving success were definitely not made wholeheartedly and that’s why announcements remain on paper only. Dr. Sharma said that under the Prime Minister Mudra Yojana, loans have been sanctioned to the tune of C89,390 crore to 2 crore 45 lakh people. Out of these people, 58 per cent beneficiaries are dalits and 76 per cent beneficiaries are women. This government is committed to ensure dignity and respect to the dalits, the downtrodden and the women. It is our government that has implemented the One Rank- One Pension Scheme to ensure the dignity of the soldiers. There should not be any politics on the issues of national interest, on matters of the dignity of soldiers and where the security of the borders of our country is concerned. This government is committed to eradicate corruption. The government constituted an SIT as soon as it came into power which was the first body blow to corruption. With a strong will and with a view to putting the country on the first and foremost place, the Prime Minister has caused a major blow to the corrupt leaders. A blow to the black money is a blow to the corrupt people, the naxalites, terrorists and those printing counterfeit currencies. The black money that streamed into banking channels will now be used for the development of the country. He further said that commemorating the birth centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal ji as ‘The Year for the Welfare of the Poor’, the government has caused the outcome of the developmental works for our country reach the last person standing on the lowest rung of development. By giving due recognition to our federal structure we raised the share of the states in the state taxes from 32 per cent to 42 per cent. At present, the economy across the world has been going through a period of slowdown. However, the economy of India has been creating a new record every day. In order to strengthen the economy of India, the farmers, labourers, entrepreneurs, youth, service providers, women - all have been kept in view under it. We had promised to provide a transparent and corruption free Government accepting the slogan ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ as the bedrock of the governance and under that promise 1159 redundant laws which had been enacted to promote red-tapism have been repealed and work is going on with regard to 400 more such laws. The government has launched schemes like ‘Make in India’, ‘Start Up India’, ‘Stand Up India’ with a view to augment the interest of the youth and women in industries. The 148 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

‘Atal Pension Yojana’, ‘Beti Padhao Beti Bachao’ scheme and ‘Sukanya Samridhi’ scheme have been launched for the welfare of girl child, poor, farmers, and the labourers. A target of C10 lakh crore has been earmarked under the present budget for agricultural loan. This amount is for crop insurance scheme and interest free crop loan. The insurance amount under the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme and the premium amount has also been brought to the minimum level. Workers have been given a portable UID number for their EPF accounts. Now their subscription towards employees provident fund will be directly deposited in their accounts, no matter, even if they change their workplace. He added that it is a matter of pride for all of us that in the last two years, five tourist sites have been included in the list of world heritage sites by the UNESCO. As for infrastructure development, 73,000 KM of road has been built in the rural areas. The Government has formulated a new civil aviation policy to connect every nook and corner of the country with air service. Demonetization is a historical step for the economic development of the country. The results of biometric based digitization are encouraging. A sum of C10 lakh crore has been provided for providing loans to our farmers. Similarly, a sum of more than C9,000 crore has been provided for making payment to sugarcane growers. A target has been set for providing one crore houses to the homeless by the year 2019. All the unmanned railway crossings would be eliminated by the year 2020. Besides 3500 km of new rail line would be constructed. The government aims to bring 1 crore poor families above the poverty line. The amount allocated for the welfare of SCs/STs and minority communities has been increased to C52,000 crore. The government is committed to fulfill the dreams of our father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi. All these works will take the country forward and make it a developed country. He said all the efforts of the Government would succeed in making India great and the solicit the cooperation of all political parties, institutions and citizens of the country in this endeavour. Further, highlighting on the demonetization, digital economy, budget allocation towards SC/ST plan and sub-plan during the period 2012 to 2017-18, claim of UPA government for poverty reduction during 2005 to 2012, and surgical strike, the minister said that in 2015- 16 under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Scheme out of 1500 crore allotted, only 15 per cent could be utilized and only 18 per cent could be utilized till October last year. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the government aims to construct one crore houses but so far only 48,000 or 0.5 per cent houses have been constructed. Seconding the Motion, Shri Virendra Singh (BJP) said that India is an agrarian country and agriculture is its lifeline. When farmer contributes to the exchequer they also expect that more and more problems would be resolved with the help of revenue contributed by them. Under the Sessional Review 149

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, there is a plan to connect all the fields in villages. Solar irrigation scheme has been formulated under Pradhan Mantri Irrigation Scheme. Substantial reforms have taken place in the health sector. He said that this is the first government in this country which has formulated a pension scheme for the farmers. This government has launched a Kisan Channel to provide information to farmers and has motivated farmers to increase the production of pulses by providing them incentive at the rate of C850 to C950 per quintal. Shri Singh further said that we all are working under the stewardship of the Prime Minister for social, political, cultural and economic development of the country. He stated that a historical move have been made to insulate the institution of family from disintegration by providing employment to people under the MUDRA Yojana. Shri Singh reiterated that the entire country is with the Prime Minister in his efforts to make the country proud, self-reliant, vibrant and pro-farmer. Participating in the discussion1, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge (INC) pointing out the reasons for discontinuing the 92-93 years old practice by merging the Rail Budget with the General Budget, said that the Railway is a public service institution, not a commercial service organization. It is not the objective of the Railway to earn revenue for the department of finance, whereas its objective is to provide maximum facilities to the common men by charging minimum fare. In this context he suggested that the autonomy of the Railway should have been kept intact . Further mentioning about the Bullet train project taken up by the government, role of Congress

1 Others who participated in the discussion were: Sarvashri Ajay Misra Teni, Naranbhai Kachhadia, Mullappally Ramachandran, Shrirang Appa Barne, Mohammad Salim, Sharad Tripathi, T.G. Venkatesh Babu, Rameshwar Teli, Ganesh Singh, A.P. Jithender Reddy, Sankar Prasad Datta, Gaurav Gogoi, Mekapati Raja Mohan Reddy, Birendra Kumar Choudhary, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Pashupati Nath Singh, Tariq Anwar, Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, R. Dhruvanarayana, Bhagwant Mann, Kunwar Pushpendra Singh Chandel, Jose K. Mani, Rabindra Kumar Jena, Nityanand Rai, Jitendra Chaudhury, Kalyan Banerjee, P.K. Biju, Md. Badaruddoza Khan, Jyotiraditaya M. Scindia, Rakesh Singh, P. Karunakaran, Pralhad Joshi, B. N. Chandrappa, Dushyant Chautala, Kaushalendra Kumar, Manoj Tiwari, E.T. Mohammad Basheer, N.K. Premachandran, Rajesh Ranjan, Kapil Moreshwar Patil, Tathagat Satpathy, Jugal Kishore, Bhairon Prasad Mishra, Ravindra Kumar Ray, Ramesh Chander Kaushik, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Hari Manjhi, Vinod Lakhmashi Chavda, Sunil Kumar Singh, S.P. Muddahanumegowda, Chandra Prakash Joshi, Lakhan Lal Sahu, Rodmal Nagar, Alok Sanjar, Devji M. Patel, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Ramcharan Bohra, Rahul Kaswan, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Ram Kumar Sharma, Vishnu Dayal Ram, Prof. Richard Hay, Dr. Virendra Kumar, Dr. Sunil Baliram Gaikwad, Dr. Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, Dr. A. Sampath, Dr. Thokchom Meinya, Dr. Kambhampati Haribabu, Dr. Kulmani Samal, Dr. (Smt.) Bharati Dhirubhai Shyal, Dr.(Smt.) Ratna De (Nag), Dr. Kirit P. Solanki, Dr. Varaprasadarao Velagapalli, Dr. Prabhas Kumar Singh, Adv. Joice George, Kumari Shobha Karandlaje, Smt. Jayshreeben Patel, Smt. Ranjaben Bhatt, Smt. Aparupa Poddar, Smt. Kamla Paatle, Smt. Riti Pathak, Smt. Kothapalli Geetha, Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Smt. Jyoti Dhurve, Smt. P.K. Shreemathi Teacher, Smt. Ranjeet Ranjan, Smt. Rakshatai Khadse, Smt. Santosh Ahlawat, Smt. Anju Bala, Smt. Supriya Sule, Smt. Rama Devi and Smt. Poonamben Maadam 150 The Journal of Parliamentary Information in strengthening democracy, various difficulties faced by the farmers, drought faced by some states, short comings of demonetization and the role of RBI, Swachh Bharat Scheme of the government, creation of employment, and Stand Up India Programme of the Prime Minister etc., Shri Kharge suggested that C48 thousand crore allocated for MGNREGA is a meager amount. At least C90 thousand crore should have been allocated for the MGNREGA scheme, if man days are C90 thousand and the Government intends to implement it efficiently. Joining the discussion, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) said that he is thankful to the Government for remembering the great persons of this country. The country has a great respect for diversity and that is country’s intrinsic strength. Expressing his concern over the drying and deplorable condition of river Mahanadi, various steps taken to transform the lives of our farmers, and migration of labourers, Shri Mahtab said that it is high time that the House should also deliberate on the issue of One Nation, One Election, as pointed by the Hon’ble President in his address. Shri Anandrao Adsul (SS), participating in the debate said that the President’s Address is a comprehensive account of working of the Union Government and its various schemes. The commendable works of the Government should be praised and shortcomings should be pointed out. There should be one uniform law for every citizen of our country but no initiatives have been taken in this regard. He stated that demonetization is a historical decision but its implementation was not planned appropriately. Further, he thanked the Government and soldiers for surgical strike and said that after surgical strike, next day a meeting of leaders of all the political parties was convened by the government, similarly, a meeting should have also been convened after demonetization to get their suggestions. Participating in the discussion, Shri Thota Narasimham (TD) congratulated the Prime Minister for his bold decision to demonetize C500 and C1000 notes to combat the evils of black money, corruption and terror financing, and suggested that modest tax concessions were needed to ramp-up spending to ease the pain caused by demonetization. Further appreciating all the Government policies for the welfare of the poor, dalit, downtrodden, deprived, farmers, labourers and the young people, he said that apart from opening of 26 crore plus Jan Dhan Accounts, establishment of the Indian Postal Payment Bank is a good step to bring banking operations to the doorstep of the poor and the unbanked household to the banking system. The Government’s commitment to combat terrorism and terrorist activities is displayed in the form of surgical strikes. A constructive debate on simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies is a welcoming step. The National Civil Aviation Policy Sessional Review 151 will give a major boost to air connectivity in the smaller cities and towns. Launching of BHIM App in the name of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is really a tribute offered to him. The ISRO really deserves congratulation for launching 20 satellites in one go. The government’s step to convert three crore Kisan Cards into RuPay Debit Cards is a right step in the right direction. He urged the Government to take steps to bring soaring prices of pulses under control and to take steps to improve the quality of life of the people. He also thanked the Union Government for declaring Polavaram project as a national project. Replying to the discussion, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi thanked the Hon’ble President for his address to both the Houses of Parliament and said that the power of people has always been of utmost importance to the political system, be it democratic or undemocratic system. He prayed to the august House and urged upon all those who are the partners in the decision making process to recognize the strength of the people and work cohesively to create a conducive atmosphere in a mass- movement mode to take the country forward and facilitate it to scale a new height of development. The Prime Minister said that for the first time, the issue of cleanliness has been discussed in this House by the current Government. All should come forward to mobilize the society to this noble cause in order to make the dream of Gandhi ji true. It is very natural for budgetary issues to come up during the discussion on the President’s Address. But the discussion was focused mainly on the early presentation of the Budget. This is an effort to come out of the British practice and a step towards ensuring the timely utilization of the budget. At the same time, it also aims to discontinue the practice of spending government fund indiscriminately from December to March. The decision to prepone the presentation of budget was taken on the basis of the recommendation made by the committee constituted by none other than the previous government. He said that there is a need to understand one thing about the railway that it was the only mode of transportation 90 years ago when the rail budget was presented. We will continue to face the problems unless the issue of transport is not taken into account comprehensively. This will bring the railway to the mainstream of the economy. It is not being privatized nor its autonomy is being tinkered with. He said that since the economy of the country was robust it was the appropriate time to go ahead with the demonetization process. It was the right time when common business had reached its peak and difficulties might be there for 15-20 days and it was estimated that everything would be streamlined in 50 days. He further said that the clean India mission in the economic domain is also marching ahead with a great pace on the lines of Swachh Bharat 152 The Journal of Parliamentary Information mission launched by this Government. The Benami transaction Act has been passed and notified accordingly. New stringent laws have been made against the black money stashed abroad and provisions have been made to confiscate the property. In this budget also fresh set of laws have been mentioned and punishment has been increased to 10 years of imprisonment from the seven years. An agreement has been signed with Switzerland to this effect and similar agreements have been materialized by the government with the USA and other countries. The government has also taken the decision to this effect that transaction of not more than C20,000 cash would be made in the sale of any property. The government has passed the Real Estate Bill. Again, provisions have been made for imposing 1 per cent excise tax in the jewellery business because our intention was to make things streamlined and not to bring problems. We have also brought income tax declaration scheme and more than 1100 laws have been repealed which have been identified as obsolete. Elucidating further, he said since independence Nine schemes under various names were converged into MNREGA later on and modifications were done on 1035 occasions in the MNREGA scheme. With drastic changes in the work culture and the approach of the government, this Government has completed the national optical fibre network with last mile connectivity in 76,000 villages in a very short time. He said that we should not under estimate the digital currency. Mobilization cost is much higher for ATMs than that for vegetables and milk. Under the PMGSY this government had constructed 111 km road per day as compared to the 69 km per day constructed during the regime of the previous government. Under the rural housing scheme this government had constructed 22,27,000 houses in one year as compared to 10,83,000 houses constructed during the regime of the previous government. Earlier only 1500 km broad gauge railway line was commissioned and in this government 3000 km broad gauge rail line has been commissioned last year. All know that electricity boards of all the states are in crisis. But during the last two years generation of power has increased. In the year 2014, solar energy production was 2,700 MW only which our government has increased to 9,100 MW. Under the UDAY Scheme, the states are likely to have savings of about C1,60,000 crore. Earlier coal was not sold near the place of its mining so that railways could make some earnings. This government rationalized it and as a result of which the transportation expenditure of coal has decreased by about C1300 crore. Alluding to energy, he said, the LED bulbs save energy and the government took this job in a mission mode and succeeded in installing 21 crore LED bulbs which has resulted in a saving of C11,000 crore. Sessional Review 153

During the year 2012-13 the total allocation under schedule caste sub plan was pegged at C37,113 crore which was increased to 40,920 crore in the year 2016-17 registering an increase of 33.7 per cent. In this year’s budget C52,393 crore have been allocated. As many as 84 schemes of 17 ministries have been linked with the direct benefit transfer scheme. Thirty two crore people have been transferred C1,56,000 crore under this scheme. The leakages of subsidized gas cylinders to the tune of C26,000 crore has been stopped after the subsidy distribution has been linked with AADHAR. As a result, the government has been able to give LPG connections to 1.5 crore families. Linkage of ration cards with AADHAR has helped in identifying about 4 crore ration cards. An amount of C 14,000 crore which was pocketed by the middle man is now going into the pockets of poor people. Now payments are made on the basis of AADHAR under MNREGA. This has also helped in saving about C7,633 crore and more savings are likely in the future years. The Prime Minister said that the call of His Excellency, the President of India, on simultaneous elections of Parliament and assemblies needs to be given a serious thought. Priority has been given to Krishi Sinchayi Yojana. Fundamental and drastic changes have been made in allocation of funds under MNREGA by increasing it to C11,000 crore in two years whereas only C600 crore were increased in three years by the previous government. He said that the Crop Insurance Scheme was being implemented for a long time but the farmers were not coming forward to take benefits of this scheme. He requested all the Members to go through Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and find out as to how farmers of their constituency can get benefit under this scheme and make the farmers aware about the Soil Health Card also. On the issue of providing employment to youths, the Government has provided loan to more than two crore persons under MUDRA Yojana without any guarantee and with the help of that money they have become self-reliant and provided employment to other persons also. The government has adopted the employment oriented policies and focused on Skill Development. There is potential to create employment opportunities under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Yojana. The Government has taken a number of initiatives in textile and footwear sectors as a result of which employment opportunities have been created in these sectors. The Prime Minister also mentioned the Surgical Strike conducted by the Army that has proved that our Army is fully capable of defending this country. He said that we all have to carry forward this country on the path of development and there is an opportunity for India in today’s world order. We can fulfill the dreams of our forefathers if we stand united before the world comity. All the amendments moved were negatived. The motion was adopted. 154 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

The Union Budget - 2017-2018: Discontinuing a 92-year old practice of presentation of two separate budgets i.e., the Railways Budget and the General Budget, the Union Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley, for the first time, presented an integrated Budget i.e, the merger of the Railways Budget with the General Budget, on 1 February, 2017. Discussion on the Union Budget 2017-2018 took place on 8 and 9 February, 2017. Presenting the Budget Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Government was elected amidst huge expectations of the people. The underlying theme of countless expectations was good governance, inflation and price rise, corruption in day to day transactions and crony capitalism, and major change in the way the country’s natural resources were allocated, processed and deployed. In the last two and half years, it has been the government’s mission to bring a Transformative Shift in the way the country is governed. The country has moved from a discretionary administration to a policy and system based administration; from favouritism to transparency and objectivity in decision making; from blanket and loose entitlements to targeted delivery; and from informal economy to formal economy. Inflation, which was in double digits, has been controlled; sluggish growth has been replaced by high growth; and a massive war against black money has been launched. The government has worked tirelessly on all these fronts and feel encouraged by the unstinted support of the people to the initiatives of the government. Further Shri Jaitley said that he is presenting the Budget when the world economy faces considerable uncertainty, in the aftermath of major economic and political developments during the last one year. Nevertheless, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that world GDP will grow by 3.1 per cent in 2016 and 3.4 per cent in 2017. The advanced economies are expected to increase their growth from 1.6 per cent to 1.9 per cent and the emerging economies from 4.1 per cent to 4.5 per cent. As per current indications, macro-economic policy is expected to be more expansionary in certain large economies. Growth in a number of emerging economies is expected to recover in 2017. However, emerging economies are also facing major challenges. Amidst all these developments, India stands out as a bright spot in the world economic landscape. India’s macro-economic stability continues to be the foundation of economic success. CPI inflation declined from 6 per cent in July, 2016 to 3.4 per cent in December, 2016 and is expected to remain within RBI’s mandated range of 2 per cent to 6 per cent. Favourable price developments reflect prudent macro-economic management, resulting in higher agricultural production, especially in pulses. India’s Current Account Deficit declined from about 1 per cent of GDP last year to 0.3 per cent of GDP in the first half of 2016-17. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased from C1,07,000 Sessional Review 155 crore in the first half of last year to C1,45,000 crore in the first half of 2016-17. This marks an increase by 36 per cent, despite 5 per cent reduction in global FDI inflows. Foreign exchange reserves have reached 361 billion US Dollars as on 20th January, 2017, which represents a comfortable cover for about 12 months of imports. The Government has also continued on the steady path of fiscal consolidation, without compromising on the public investment requirements of the economy. Externally, the economy successfully weathered a number of shocks, the redemption of FCNR deposits, volatility from the US elections and the Fed rate hike. According to IMF forecast, India is expected to be one of the fastest growing major economies in 2017. India has become the sixth largest manufacturing country in the world, up from ninth previously. The country is seen as an engine of global growth.

He also said in the last one year, the country has witnessed historic and impactful economic reforms and policy making. In fact, India was one of the very few economies undertaking transformational reforms. There were two tectonic policy initiatives, namely, passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill for GST and the progress for its implementation; and demonetisation of high denomination bank notes. He said for several decades, tax evasion has bred a parallel economy which is unacceptable for an inclusive society. Demonetisation exercise is part of this government’s resolve to eliminate corruption, black money, counterfeit currency and terror funding. Demonetisation has strong potential to generate long-term benefits in terms of reduced corruption, greater digitisation of the economy, increased flow of financial savings and greater formalisation of the economy, all of which would eventually lead to higher GDP growth and tax revenues. He said the government firmly believes that demonetisation and GST which were built on the third transformational achievement of our government, namely, the JAM vision, will have an epoch making impact on the economy and the lives of the people. The country is at an important turning point in the path of growth and development.

He said the pace of remonetisation has picked up and will soon reach comfortable levels. The effects of demonetisation are not expected to spill over into the next year. The IMF, has projected a GDP growth of 7.2 per cent and 7.7 per cent in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The World Bank, however, is more optimistic and has projected a GDP growth of 7 per cent in 2016-17, 7.6 per cent in 2017-18 and 7.8 per cent in 2018- 19. This pick up in our economy is premised upon our policy and determination to continue with economic reforms; increase in public investment in infrastructure and development projects; and export growth 156 The Journal of Parliamentary Information in the context of the expected rebound in world economy. The surplus liquidity in the banking system, created by demonetisation, will lower borrowing costs and increase the access to credit. This will boost economic activity, with multiplier effects. Highlighting the major key concerns announced by the Prime Minister on 31st December, 2016, Shri Jaitley said his overall approach, while preparing this Budget, has been to spend more in rural areas, infrastructure and poverty alleviation and yet maintain the best standards of fiscal prudence and that he also kept in mind the need to continue with economic reforms, promote higher investments and accelerate growth. The last one year was a witness to other major reforms, namely, enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code; amendment to the RBI Act for inflation targeting; enactment of the Aadhar bill for disbursement of financial subsidies and benefits; significant reforms in FDI policy; the job creating package for textile sector; and several other measures. The government will continue the process of economic reforms for the benefit of the poor and the underprivileged. He said the Budget for 2017-18 contains three major reforms. First, the presentation of the Budget has been advanced to 1st February to enable the Parliament to avoid a Vote on Account and pass a single Appropriation Bill for 2017-18, before the close of the current financial year. This would enable the Ministries and Departments to operationalise all schemes and projects, including the new schemes, right from the commencement of the next financial year. They would be able to fully utilise the available working season before the onset of the monsoon. Second, the merger of the Railways Budget with the General Budget is a historic step. The government has discontinued the colonial practice prevalent since 1924. This decision brings the Railways to the centre stage of Government’s fiscal policy and would facilitate multi-modal transport planning between railways, highways and inland waterways. The functional autonomy of Railways will, however, continue. Third, the government has done away with the plan and non-plan classification of expenditure. This will give the government a holistic view of allocations for sectors and ministries. This would facilitate optimal allocation of resources. The government is aware that it needs to do more for the people. Continuing with the task of fulfilling the people’s expectations, the government’s agenda for the next year is : “Transform, Energise and Clean India”, that is, TEC India. This agenda of TEC India seeks to Transform the quality of governance and quality of life of our people; energise various sections of society, especially the youth and the vulnerable, and enable them to unleash their true potential; and clean the country from the evils of corruption, black money and non-transparent political funding. Sessional Review 157

The finance minister emphasized in detail how the Budget proposals for this year is built under ten distinct themes to foster this broad agenda. The themes are: Farmers – for whom the government has committed to double the income in 5 years; Rural Population – providing employment and basic infrastructure; Youth – energising them through education, skills and jobs; Poor and the Underprivileged – strengthening the systems of social security, health care and affordable housing; Infrastructure – for efficiency, productivity and quality of life; Financial Sector – growth and stability through stronger institutions; Digital Economy – for speed, accountability and transparency; Public Service – effective governance and efficient service delivery through people’s participation; Prudent Fiscal Management – to ensure optimal deployment of resources and preserve fiscal stability; and Tax Administration – honouring the honest. The direct tax proposals for exemptions, etc. would result in revenue loss of C22,700 crore but after counting for revenue gain of C2,700 crore for additional resource mobilisation proposal, the net revenue loss in direct tax would come to C20,000 crore. There is no significant loss or gain in the indirect tax proposals. The Minister said that he is privileged to present the first combined Budget of independent India that includes the Railways also. He said the government is now in a position to synergise the investments in railways, roads, waterways and civil aviation. For 2017-18, the total capital and development expenditure of Railways has been pegged at C1,31,000 crores. This includes C55,000 crores provided by the Government. Among other things, the Railways will focus on four major areas, namely: (i) Passenger safety; (ii) Capital and development works; (iii) Cleanliness; and (iv) Finance and accounting reforms. For passenger safety, a Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh will be created with a corpus of C1 lakh crores over a period of 5 years. Besides seed capital from the Government, the Railways will arrange the balance resources from their own revenues and other sources. The Government will lay down clear cut guidelines and timeline for implementing various safety works to be funded from this Kosh. Unmanned level crossings on Broad Gauge lines will be eliminated by 2020. Expert international assistance will be harnessed to improve safety preparedness and maintenance practices. In the next 3 years, the throughput is proposed to be enhanced by 10 per cent. This will be done through modernisation and upgradation of identified corridors. Railway lines of 3,500 kms will be commissioned in 2017-18, as against 2,800 kms in 2016-17. Steps will be taken to launch dedicated trains for tourism and pilgrimage. He further said that the railways have set up joint ventures with 9 State Governments. Seventy projects have been identified for construction and development. A beginning has been made with regard to station redevelopment. At least 25 stations are expected to be awarded during 158 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

2017-18 for station redevelopment. 500 stations will be made differently abled friendly by providing lifts and escalators. It is proposed to feed about 7,000 stations with solar power in the medium term. A beginning has already been made in 300 stations. Works will be taken up for 2,000 railway stations as part of 1000 MW solar mission. The government’s focus is on Swachh Rail. SMS based Clean My Coach Service has been started. It is now proposed to introduce “Coach Mitra” facility, a single window interface, to register all coach related complaints and requirements. By 2019, all coaches of Indian Railways will be fitted with bio toilets. Pilot plants for environment friendly disposal of solid waste and conversion of biodegradable waste to energy are being set up at New Delhi and Jaipur railway stations. Five more such solid waste management plants are now being taken up. Today Indian Railways face stiff competition from other modes of transportation which are dominated by the private sector. Transformative measures have to be undertaken to make Indian Railways competitive to retain their position of pre-eminence. The following steps will therefore be taken: (i) Railways will implement end to end integrated transport solutions for select commodities through partnership with logistics players, who would provide both front and back end connectivity. Rolling stocks and practices will be customised to transport perishable goods, especially agricultural products. (ii) Railways will offer competitive ticket booking facility to the public at large. Service charge on e-tickets booked through IRCTC has been withdrawn. Cashless reservations have gone up from 58 per cent to 68 per cent; and (iii) As part of accounting reforms, accrual based financial statements will be rolled out by March 2019. It will be the government’s continuous endeavour to improve the Operating Ratio of the Railways. The tariffs of Railways would be fixed, taking into consideration costs, quality of service, social obligations and competition from other forms of transport. Metro rail is emerging as an important mode of urban transportation. A new Metro Rail Policy will be announced with focus on innovative models of implementation and financing, as well as standardisation and indigenisation of hardware and software. This will open up new job opportunities for our youth. A new Metro Rail Act will be enacted by rationalising the existing laws. This will facilitate greater private participation and investment in construction and operation. The Finance Minister said that the Budget proposals under our overarching agenda is to “Transform, Energise and Clean India”. Our emphasis will now be on implementing all these proposals for the benefit of the farmers, the poor and the underprivileged sections of our society. He stated that it is said: “When my aim is right, when my goal is in sight, the winds favour me and I fly”. There is no other day, which is more appropriate for this, than today. Sessional Review 159

Initiating the discussion2, Shri M. Veerappa Moily of the Indian National Congress said that this Budget has turned out to be a timid one without any will power, thrust and vision to take the country forward. This Budget was expected to address some of the serious concerns such as manufacturing sector, unemployment, public sector investment, private investment and so on. Looking at some of the comparative pictures of many other countries, so far 22 countries have gone in for demonetization. All other countries have given the reasons of inflation, disruption of economy and many other things. But India has cited terrorism, black money and counterfeit as three reasons for demonetization. The unplanned and unprepared demonetization move has affected transactions to the extent of 70 per cent of the economy and there is a fall in the GDP. The economy has been ruined by this present Government in the name of legacy. Joining the discussion, Shri Hukmdev Narayan Yadav (BJP) said that the measures taken by the Prime Minister amply displays the intention and commitment of the Government. The budget document which contains the factors like farmer, rural population, the youth, the poor and the deprived sections of the society, infrastructure, financial sector, digital system, public service, prudent fiscal management and tax administration, presents

2 Others who participated in the discussion were: Sarvashri P.V. Midhun Reddy, Dhananjay Mahadik, Sharad Tripathi, Mohd. Asrarul Haque, Prem Singh Chandumajra, H. D. Devegowda, Suresh C. Angadi, Naranbhai Kachhadia, Nalin Kumar Kateel, Chirag Paswan, Chintaman Navasha Wanga, Ajay Misra Teni, B. N. Chandrappa, Sanjay Dhotre, R. Dhruvanarayana, Ram Kumar Sharma, Ganesh Singh, Alok Sanjar, Rodmal Nagar, Sirajuddin Ajmal, Nihal Chand, Rajeshbhai Chudasama, Ravindra Kumar Pandey, Prakash Hukkeri, Santosh Kumar, Rabindra Kumar Jena, Ramsinh Rathwa, Rameshwar Teli, Ramen Deka, Neiphiu Rio, Sumedhanand Sarswati, Md. Badaruddoza Khan, Rajesh Ranjan, Rattan Lal Kataria, N.K. Premachandran, Bhairon Prasad Mishra, P. K. Biju, Prem Das Rai, C.K. Sangma, Chandulal Sahu, Bhagwant Mann, Chhotelal, Kalyan Banerjee, Ramcharan Bohra, P. C. Gaddigoudar, B. Vinod Kumar, B. Vinod Kumar, Shrirang Appa Barne, Mullappally Ramachandran, Jugal Kishore, Hari Manjhi, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Rakesh Singh, B.V. Naik, S.P.Muddahanume Gowda, Janardan Mishra, Bharat Singh, Om Birla, Krupal Balaji Tumane, Vishnu Dayal Ram, Sunil Kumar Singh, T.G. Venkatesh Babu, Ram Tahal Chaudhary, Thota Narasimham, Virender Kashyap, Kamalbhan Singh Marabi, Dushyant Chautala, Devji M. Patel, Bodh Singh Bhagat, C.N. Jayadevan, Bhanu Pratap Singh Veema, Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, K.C. Venugopal, D.K. Suresh, Sudheer Gupta, Bhartruhari Mahtab, K. Ashok Kumar, Chandra Prakash Joshi, Kaushalendra Kumar, Kunwar Pushpendra Singh Chandel, Varaprasad Rao Velagapalli, Rahul Kaswan, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Prof. Richard Hay, Prof. Chintamani Malviya, Dr. (Smt.) Ratna De (Nag), Dr. Kirit P. Solanki, Dr. Sunil Baliram Gaikwad, Dr. A. Sampath, Dr. Virendra Kumar, Dr. Mamtaz Sanghamita, Dr. Kulmani Samal, Dr. Thokchom Meinya, Dr. J. Jayavardhan, Dr. Banshilal Mahato, Dr. Bhagirath Prasad, Adv. Joice George, Kumari Shobha Karandlaje, Smt. P. K. Shreemathi Teacher, Smt. Supriya Sule, Smt. Kothapalli Geetha, Smt. Ranjanben Bhatt, Smt. Veena Devi, Smt. Aparupa Poddar, Smt. Butta Renuka, Smt. Ranjeet Ranjan, Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Smt. Savitri Thakur, Smt. Jayshreeben Patel, Smt. Rama Devi, Smt. Anju Bala, Smt. Poonamben Maadam, Smt. Riti Pathak, Smt. Santosh Ahlawat and Smt. Bijoya Chakravarty 160 The Journal of Parliamentary Information the wider contour of the approach of this government. He appreciated the Hon’ble Prime Minister for translating the vision of Sardar Patelji and the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi by according first and second priority respectively to agriculture and rural development in the budget. He further said that the Prime Minister has initiated several schemes to usher in an equitable society in India. The Prime Minister established the MUDRA bank, which gives a loan of upto C10 lakh with self guarantee, which will bring prosperity to the deprived and the weaker sections of the society. The Prime Minister has provided C27000 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana that will change the face of the villages. The slogan given by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikash’, includes the Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, the poor, the rich, the backwards and the dalits.

Participating in the discussion, Prof. Saugata Roy (AITC) said that the Finance Minister is said to have presented a non-controversial Budget. The main problem in this Budget as to why the Government could not spend more money is that there is no money in the kitty. Prof. Roy said that with the drop in tax revenue, the compensation figures for GST that the Centre will have to compensate the States will swell to C90,000 crore, whereby leading to severe joblessness. As far as electoral reforms are concerned, Prof. Roy said that nothing will work except state funding of elections. He said that demonetization has failed to provide the financial bonanza to the Government and rather it has harmed the economy.

Taking part in the discussion, Dr. Prabhas Kumar Singh (BJD) said that there are three major changes in the Budget - early presentation, no plan and non-plan differences and merger of the Railway Budget with the General Budget. He said that adequate allocation is not given for schemes relating to rural roads, rural drinking water, education, mid-day meal programme and urban development are stagnant. Initiatives related to job creation for the youth is an area of serious concern; and no growth in the allocation of special Central assistance to states for the Scheduled Castes Welfare Scheme as well as social security schemes like pension under the National Social Assistance Programme. Being one of the fastest growing economies in the world there is a need to fix the country’s economic flaws to keep-up the pace of growth, he suggested.

Joining the discussion, Shri Jayadev Galla (TDP) appreciated and said that this is a historic budget because the Finance Minister made a historic announcement of exempting farmers and other persons who have given more than 32,000 acres of land voluntarily from paying capital gain tax on a call given by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Addressing Sessional Review 161 some of the issues relating to Andhra Pradesh like to extend a Special Development Package for Andhra Pradesh, he appreciated the effort of the government to fight corruption and suggested not to use it as a political tool and to ensure that fraud not to creep into the financial system. He also cautioned the government that all the steps are taken to ensure that the country not to go back to where it was before demonetisation. Shri Galla further suggested that since 65 per cent population of the country is dependant on agricultural income there is a need of the hour for a separate Budget for agriculture.

Taking part in the discussion, Dr. P. Venugopal (AIADMK) appreciated the Minister for bringing three important reforms in this Budget, namely, advancing the date of presentation of Budget to 1st of February; merging the Railway Budget with the General Budget; and abolishing the distinction between Plan and non-Plan expenditure. The announcement of Mission Antyodaya which is directed at lifting one crore families out of poverty is a welcome step, he said. He urged upon the Government of India to ensure that NEET is not forced in States like Tamil Nadu which already have a transparent system of admission. Joining the discussion, Shri P. Karunakaran [CPI(M)] pointed out that the major objective of the Budget should be to make social changes and reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. He said that as the Budget was presented before the House when the common people of India were reeling under the impact of demonetization, the size of the Budget has come down from 13.5 per cent of the GDP in the last year to 12.2 per cent of the GDP. He emphasized that there is reduction in the public expenditure, total revenue received has come down and the tax forgone has gone up. The Finance Minister has announced an affordable housing scheme but concession is given only to the builders and not to the common people. The reduction of income tax from 10 per cent to 5 per cent would give some relief to the middle class and the salaried people but in order to compensate the loss of revenue surcharge has been imposed. Replying to the discussion, the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley said that this year’s budget contains three major changes, namely, Railway Budget has been merged with the General Budget; the date of presentation of the budget has been advanced to 1st February in place of 28th February; and the classification between plan and non-plan expenditure has been done away with. The Railway budget, separated from the General budget in the year 1924 used to be bigger than the General budget, but today, the total expenditure of the Railways is a very small part of the General budget. Today, the Defence expenditure is more than that of the Railways. The Minister 162 The Journal of Parliamentary Information said that this year’s budget has been presented in the backdrop of three situations that has cropped-up in the world as they have the potential to impact the economy of any country. Firstly, the entire world is in the grip of recession that would naturally impact every country. Secondly, the entire world, particularly, the developed countries have started resorting to policy of protectionism and they are formulating their policies in a way that create instability in economies all over the world. Thirdly, India being a primary purchaser of crude oil impacts the country’s economy. The Minister said that the Government has been striving for the last 3 years to minimize the impact of all these things. A series of steps have been taken to ease the process of doing business in India. Politically there is a general consensus on the GST and once implemented, the entire country would be turned into one market. Today, it is clear that lakhs and crores of rupees have come into the banking system, the Reserve Bank will find what are the effects, which will take place with this money having come into the banking system. The capacity of the banks to lend money has increased. With regard to informal economy, there is a challenge before us because cash component in the GDP of advanced countries falls between 2 to 3 per cent whereas in India it is 12.2 per cent. For the first time, approximately C3,96,000 crore have been earmarked for infrastructure in this Budget. The Government has considered creating Rail Safety Fund to the tune of C1 lakh crore for which initial fund will be provided from the budget and remaining would be mobilised from other sources of Railways. The Government is making efforts to increase the Defence outlay by 10 per cent every year. In the current budget, C58,663 crore have been earmarked for agriculture sector, C1,28,560 crore for rural sector and approximately C1,86,000 crore have been provided for irrigation, rural housing, Swach Bharat Abhiyan and other poverty alleviation schemes in rural sectors. The Government has provided C48,000 crore for MNREGA. He informed that for the first time, in the history of the country, tax rates have not been increased in the budget. The objective of the Government is to include small tax payers into the tax net. The Government has made provisions to promote the affordable housing in the housing sector. Today, even after so many years since independence, a bulk of India’s politics have been funded through unaccounted money. The Government has made major serious efforts to legitimize it and is open for discussion on improvement. With regard to increase in NPAs, he said it is due to factors i.e, indiscriminate loans which were given earlier, interest has added on and some of this NPAs were hidden, and the problems of NPAs is partly the slow down. The discussion was concluded. Sessional Review 163

B. LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS The Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016 (No. 10 of 2016) and the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill, 2017: On 7 February, 2017, the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley, moved the motion for consideration of the Bill. The Minister said that on 8th of November, 2016, the Hon’ble Prime Minister, on behalf of the Government, had announced that the high denominational currency had ceased to be a legal tender. Stating the rationales and reasons, the Minister said that the action was taken under Section 22(2) of the RBI Act. Cash currency in India was almost 12.2 per cent of India’s GDP, which is extraordinarily high leading to large number of transactions in cash which involves evasion of taxes, enabling several kinds of anti-national offences like terrorism and temptation for corruption in a society. Initiating the discussion3, Shri N.K. Premachandran (RSP) said that the Ordinance route adopted by this Government to ratify the demonetization process on 8th November, 2016 is not proper. The Hon’ble Minister could have come to the House with a Bill for having legislative backing of the demonetization process. Shri Premachandran said that the Ordinance and the Bill are legally not sustainable because the declaration ceasing the legal tender character of C1000 and C500 by virtue of a notification No. 26/2 of the Reserve Bank of India does not exonerate the Government or the Reserve Bank of India from its guarantee under Section 26/1 of the Reserve Bank of India Act and the liability under Section 34/1 of the Reserve Bank of India Act. Joining the discussion, Shri Gajendera Singh Shekhawat (BJP) said that the demonetization decision taken by the Government is the need of the hour due to the fact that in the last 70 years, the Indian economy kept on shrinking, corruption was on the rise, black money was being amassed and naxalite activities were being promoted. He said that the announcement made by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 15 August, 2014, about opening of Jan Dhan Accounts fetched 26 crore accounts being opened in the country. The Benami Property Act and income disclosure scheme brought about by the Government has resulted in about C66-67 thousand crores of income being declared by tax evaders.

Participating in the discussion, Dr. Shashi Tharoor (INC) said that with the announcement made by the Government on 8 November, 2016,

3 Others who participated in the discussion were: Sarvashri Muthamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Y.V. Subba Reddy, Jagdambika Pal, Kaushalendra Kumar, Jose K. Mani, Dushyant Chautala, Gaurav Gogoi, Rajesh Ranjan, Dr. A. Sampath, Adv. Joice George, Shrimati Supriya Sule and Shrimati Ranjeet Ranjan 164 The Journal of Parliamentary Information some C14 lakh crore worth of 500 and 1000 rupee notes amounting to 86.4 per cent of all the currency in circulation in India ceased to be a legal tender. He said that since over 90 per cent of the financial transactions are made in cash and over 85 per cent of our workers in our country are paid in cash, the everyday economy was ground to a standstill.

Replying to the discussion, the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley thanked the Members of all political parties who expressed their views on this Ordinance and the Bill and said that on the 8th of November, 2016 after receiving the recommendation of the Reserve Bank of India Central Board, the Government of India through a decision of the Union Cabinet took a decision that high denomination currency of C500 and C1000 shall cease to be a legal tender. But then the liability of the Reserve Bank to pay on demand continued to remain till the 30th of December, 2016. The Minister said that India is one example where high denominational currency is 86 per cent of the total currency and it does not compare with comparable models anywhere in the world. India is amongst the highest in the world where the ratio of paper currency to the GDP is 12.2 per cent. Year 2017, when technology is taking the world in one direction, we are still giving virtues of dealing in cash. The man who deals in cash obviously does not pay taxes. From property to business to lifestyles to luxury to elections, cash economy has polluted every stream of the system.

The Minister said that when banks are loaded with money, the capacity of banks to lend for growth also increases whereby leading to less interest rate, and increase tax collation in the States and the Centre. Undoubtedly, there are sectors which can be adversely impacted but the impact is for a short term. India will gradually expand into a digitized economy and workmen can be paid by a digitized manner. The cost benefit analysis is that the people who will suffer the most from this are those who manage to be evaders under the earlier system. Now, with every restriction, which the Reserve Bank has lifted, except C24,000 withdrawal a week – all other restrictions have been lifted with regard to the banking system – the same provision applies as far as the District Cooperative Banks are concerned. With these observations, the Minister commended the Bill to the House for acceptance. The Bill was passed.

The Finance Bill, 2017: The Finance Bill, 2017 sought to give effect to the financial proposals of the Central Government for the financial year 2017-2018. On 21 March, 2017, the Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley moved Sessional Review 165 that the Bill to give effect to the financial proposals of the Central Government for the financial year 2017-18 be taken into consideration. Initiating the discussion, Shri Deepender Singh Hooda (INC) said that seven per cent growth rate of our GDP is primarily consumption driven and it was due to good rainfall, implementation of the 7th Pay Commission and steep reduction in the prices of oil. If the benefit of 7th Pay Commission and fall in oil prices is taken away then the actual growth rate of the country’s GDP will come down to 6 per cent only. In the year 2010 the investment proposals relating to large, medium and small industries were to the tune of C17 lakh 36 thousand crore whereas in the year 2016 the investment proposal have come down to C3 lakh 93 thousand crore only. As far as exports are concerned, in the year 2013-14, the previous Government had left a trail of $26.2 billion exports per month whereas, in three years of this Government, the exports stand at $21.2 billion. Several sectors like garment, apparel and footwear etc., are the job intensive sectors which create disproportionately larger amount of jobs for every one lakh investment as compared to the other sectors. Employing our finite resources as investments in these sectors, the country can replace China among the major exporters in the world and provide employment to the millions of youth keeping in tune with the promise made by this government for creating 20 million employment opportunities every year. In the taxation policy, the tilt is in favour of indirect taxes which are to be shared equally by all tax payers. The direct taxes have been decreasing while the indirect taxes have been increasing during the last three years. The proposal of vesting more power into the hands of income tax authorities with regard to search and seizure is a preparation for unleashing tax terrorism in the country. The government should fulfill the promise it had made for raising the exemption limit of personal income tax upto C5 lakhs. A detailed discussion4 took place on various aspects and provisions of the Finance Bill, 2017 in which several other Members participated. Replying to the discussion, the Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Central Government does not have any constitutional authority to impose tax on

4 Others who participated in the discussion were: Sarvashri Rakesh Singh, M. Chandrakasi, Tathagata Satpathy, Gajanan Kirtikar, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, Yogi Adityanath, Md. Badaruddoza Khan, Mekapati Raja Mohan Reddy, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Nishikant Dubey, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Shivkumar Udasi, Abhishek Singh, Badruddin Ajmal, Subhash Chandra Baheria, Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, Dushyant Chautala, Idris Ali, Kaushalendra Kumar, N.K. Premachandran, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Thota Narasimham, Dharambir, Dharam Vira Gandhi, Vincent H. Pala, Rajesh Ranjan, Ramcharan Bohra, Rajeev Satav, Prof. Saugata Roy, Prof. K.V. Thomas, Dr. Yashwant Singh, Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shrimati Kavitha Kalvakuntla, Shrimati K. Maragatham, Shrimati Ranjeet Ranjan and Shrimati Hemamalini 166 The Journal of Parliamentary Information agriculture. Refering to some Members saying that after demonetization, tax collection has come down, the Minister said that by the end of March 31st this year, the estimated tax collection is likely to be C17 lakh crore in place of estimated C16 lakh 25 thousand crore. After passing the Constitution Amendment Bill relating to GST, as many as 12 meetings of GST Council has been held and consensus decisions have been taken on all the contentious issues in the Council. The Government is making all efforts to implement the GST from 1st July, 2017. The Minister said that as much as two per cent of GDP was held in notes reflecting black economic activities proving the fact that there is a transfer of wealth from criminals to the Government. After performing data mining, the CBDT and Taxation Department has sent 18 lakh emails and SMS seeking information regarding deposits which do not match the depositors’ income. Those failing to provide explanations would face inquiry as per Income Tax Act. In a major decision the Government have reduced the taxation by 5 per cent to 25 per cent regarding companies with turnover of C50 crore and efforts have been made to bring small tax payers within the tax net by reducing the tax rates. The Bill as amended was passed. The Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017; The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017; The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017 and The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017: On 29 March, 2017, the Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley, moving the motions for consideration of the Bills, said these are four important Bills and are being taken up together for consideration as their subject matters and references are same. The system of indirect taxes extant anterior to 101st Amendment to the Constitution continues to exist even today and is likely to continue till 15th September this year. Under this system, the right to levy some of the taxes was the jurisdiction of the Centre and the right to levy some other taxes was under the jurisdiction of States. But these Bills seek to ensure the movement of all the goods and services all over India, to set up uniform system of taxation, facilitate the interface of an assessee with only one assessee authority. The tax proceeds, so collected, will be shared by both the Centre and the States. The Goods and Services Tax Council made unanimous recommendations for five laws, out of which four laws will come up before the Parliament and one before the Legislative Assemblies of all the States and two Union Territories where Legislative Assembly exists. First law is the central GST law which includes the integration of taxes to be incurred on Goods and Services, determine the ceiling of taxation and collection of taxes etc. Second law is the SGST law which will not come up before the Centre Sessional Review 167 but before 31 Legislative Assemblies. This law will be a mirror image of the Central Law and will provide for as to how the GST will be implemented in every State. Third law is the Integrated GST which will handle the taxes likely to be incurred on the transactions of inter-state trades from one State to another State and from one Union Territory to the other Union Territory. Fourth is the Union Territory GST law, which, in a way, stands to be the CGST law as it incorporates its provisions and implement them in the Union Territories. Fifth and the last one deals with the system under which provisions have been made to provide compensation to the State which suffers loss as a result of its implementation. The GST council is India’s first federal institution where sovereignty of the Centre and the States in relation to indirect taxes has been pooled together in a federal institution. Hence, to create India’s first federal institution, it is incumbent on all of us to make sure that the federal institution works. Initiating the discussion5, Shri M. Veerappa Moily (INC) said that there are ten Working Groups constituted to look into specific issues of sectors like banking, finance, insurance, telecom, etc. but there are several other very important and crucial sectors where the groups should be formed to look into that problem. Shri Moily suggested that there should be clarity with regard to Excise Free Zones like the North-East and other backward States and Special Economic Zones or it will discriminate against the development of these regions. There should have been some strict prohibition to ensure that no cess, surcharge or additional excise duty would be imposed henceforward.

Participating in the discussion, Dr. Udit Raj (BJP) said that after the passage of Goods and Service Tax a very big economic revolution would happen in the country from 1 July, 2017. The Government is bringing GST as it would lead to simplification of indirect taxes and there would be uniformity. All GST transactions would be online leading to higher tax base. Indirect Central Taxes and various taxes of the state governments would be merged, leading to reduction in inflation, and higher compliance as well as investment would also increase. Dr. Raj said that it has been

5 Others who participated in the discussion were: Sarvashree Bhartruhari Mahtab, Anandrao Adsul, Jayadev Galla, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, Mohammad Salim, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Varaprasad Rao Velagapalli, Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Subhash Chandra Baheria, Ram Kumar Sharma, Suresh C. Angadi, Sirajuddin Ajmal, Santosh Kumar, Sushil Kumar Singh, Rajeev Satav, Sudheer Gupta, N.K. Premachandran, Bidyut Baran Mahato, C.N. Jayadevan, Bishnu Pada Ray, Rahul Shewale, Rajendra Agrawal, M. Murli Mohan, Ram Prasad Sarmah, Anil Shirole, Om Birla, Ajay Misra Teni, K.C. Venugopal, Prof. Saugata Roy, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Adv. Joice George, Shrimati Supriya Sule, Shrimati Poonam Mahajan, Shrimati Poonamben Maadam, Shrimati Rakshatai Khadse, Shrimati Rama Devi, Shrimati Kothapalli Geetha and Shrimati Ranjanben Bhatt 168 The Journal of Parliamentary Information seen in several countries that wherever GST was adopted, GDP of the countries showed double digit growth. It would be a blessing for backward states without manufacturing base. Dr. Raj further said that the founding fathers of our Constitution wanted a boundary-less India having free trade and uniform prices giving equal opportunities to all states and therefore, this is the most important Bill so far brought in the sphere of economic sector.

Joining the discussion, Shri T.G. Venkatesh Babu (AIADMK) said that the GST will be the biggest reform in Indian taxation since 1947. But there are many challenges for its successful implantation, which include, getting acceptance from all the stakeholders, the States and Union Territories and most importantly, from the traders and small industrial sectors. Shri Babu said that though we acknowledge that the fundamental purpose of GST is to make India as one State where interstate movement of goods is common, there is an apprehension that the implementation of GST will make the present Commercial Tax Department redundant. Shri Babu appreciated that the deliberations in the GST Council have been open and many of the concerns raised by citizens have been accommodated in the spirit of give and take.

Joining the discussion, Shri Kalyan Banerjee (TMC) said that the present Chief Minister of the State of West Bengal had in principle supported the concept of GST as early as 2009 in the party manifesto. Shri Banerjee said that the idea was to usher in a strong and cohesive indirect tax regime, which creates a single market for all trade and industry that is beneficial for the common men, small traders and enterprises. He further said that the Compensation Act will ensure that no State of the country will suffer any financial loss due to the GST. Shri Banerjee stated that the purpose of GST was to get rid of multiplicity of taxes and the related cascading effect and to unify different taxes into a single entry so that the ill-effects of inflation can be curtailed to a large extent. Adding to this, the removal of multiple tax structure means a reduction in the cost of compliance, the benefit of which should finally pass down to the consumer. Shri Banerjee also said that such a major reform in the indirect taxation structure will not only help curb inflation but will also have a very positive effect on GDP growth.

Replying to the discussion, the Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley said that once this Bill becomes an Act and is implemented, it will have a significant impact on the taxation methodology on India. Every State had its own tax and different tax rates leading to loss of huge economic resources. The object of GST Sessional Review 169 is to have one tax whereby each assessee has only one interface with one assessing officer. By the method of pooled sovereignty, the Centre and the States will jointly decide what the taxation rates are, how the laws are and how they have to be administered. This Bill is a Money Bill as it seeks to replace the Central Excise Law, the Service Tax Law, the VAT Law and the various other taxation laws. The Minister said that the Central Government has a ministerial job of notifying the rates and not decide the tax rates. The Council is going to be a permanent body and that permanent body is represented by almost every State Government, literally by every State Government.

The Bill, as amended, was passed.

C. QUESTION HOUR The Eleventh Session of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha commenced on 31 January, 2017 and concluded on 12 April, 2017.

A chart showing the dates of ballots and last dates of receipt of notices of questions during the Session was circulated to Members along with Bulletin Part-II dated 7 January, 2017. The notices of Starred and Unstarred Questions for the Session were tabled with effect from 9 January, 2017. The last date of receiving notices of Questions was 27 March, 2017.

The actual number of notices of Starred and Unstarred Questions tabled by the Members were 46785 (SQ 29520 + USQ 17265). As a result of splitting few questions, where two or more Ministries were involved, the number of notices of Starred and Unstarred Questions increased to 47235 (SQ 29840 + USQ 17395). The maximum number of notices of Starred and Unstarred Questions included for ballot in a day were 1211 for the sitting on 20 March, 2017 and 692 for 27 March, 2017 respectively. The minimum number of notices of Starred and Unstarred Questions included for ballot in a day were 827 for 12 April, 2017 and 487 for 2 February, 2017 respectively. The maximum and minimum number of Members whose names were included in the ballot was 300 for the sitting on 20 March, 2017 and 222 on 2 February, 2017 and 12 April, 2017, respectively.

Admissibility of notices was examined in the light of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, Directions by the Speaker, Parliamentary Conventions and past precedents. Out of 47235 notices of Starred and Unstarred questions received including split questions, 560 notices were included in the lists of Starred Questions and 6440 in the lists of Unstarred Questions. 170 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

The Ministry-wise break-up of admitted Notices of Questions shows that the Minister of Finance answered the maximum number of Questions (both Starred and Unstarred) i.e., 560, followed by the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, who answered 414 questions (both Starred and Unstarred). The minimum number of questions (both Starred and Unstarred), which was two, was answered by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. No question was admitted against Prime Minister. Names of 364 Members were included in the Lists of Starred and Unstarred Questions. The maximum number of questions admitted /clubbed was 110 against the name of Dr. Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, MP. The maximum and minimum number of Members whose names were included in the Lists of Questions was 291 on 20 March, 2017, and 220 on 2 February, 2017, respectively. Four notices for raising Half-an-Hour Discussion were received during the Session and all were disallowed. Three Short Notice Questions were received during the Session and all were disallowed. Two correcting statements were made by the Ministers, correcting the replies already given to previous questions in the Lok Sabha. A total of 136 Starred Questions were orally replied during the Session. The average number of Starred Questions answered orally during each sitting of the House was 4.86. The maximum number of Starred Questions answered orally on a single day was eight, on 31 March, 2017 and minimum number of starred questions answered orally on a single day was two, on 3 February, 6 February, and 11 April, 2017. The average number of Unstarred Questions appearing in the Lists was 230 per day during the entire Session. A total of six thousand eight hundred and sixty three Statements were laid on the Table of the Lok Sabha in reply to Starred and Unstarred Questions during the Session.

D. OBITUARY REFERENCES During the Session, obituary references were made on the passing away of Shri E. Ahamed, sitting member of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha; Shri Rabi Ray, former Speaker of Lok Sabha; Shri Jujhar Singh, Shri P. Viswambharan, Smt. Kishori Sinha, Shri Sunder Lal Patwa, Shri Balasaheb Vikhe Patil, Shri Manku Ram Sodhi, Shri Surjit Singh Barnala, Shri Jambuwant Dhote, Shri P. Shiv Shanker, Shri Syed Shahabuddin and Shri B.V.N. Reddy, all former members of Parliament. Sessional Review 171

References were also made by the Speaker to the following tragic incidents and loss of life:-Twenty six persons were killed when a boat carrying them capsized in river Ganga near Patna on 14 January, 2017;Thirty persons including eighteen children were killed and over fifty others injured when a school bus was hit by a truck in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh on 19 January, 2017; Forty one persons were killed and over sixty five injured when Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express train derailed in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh on 21 January, 2017;Twenty persons including sixteen soldiers were killed in four avalanches that took place in high altitude areas of Gurez and Sonmarg in Jammu & Kashmir on 25 January, 2017; Eight personnel of Odisha State Armed Police were killed and five others injured in a landmine blast in Koraput district of Odisha on 1 February, 2017; and Seventeen persons were killed and several others injured when a coal mine of Eastern Coalfields Limited collapsed in Godda district of Jharkhand on 2 February, 2017. Members stood in silence for a short while as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed. 172 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

RAJYA SABHA

TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY SECOND SESSION* The Two Hundred and Forty Second Session of the Rajya Sabha was held in two parts, i.e. from 31 January to 9 February, 2017 and from 9 March to 12 April, 2017. The first part of the Session came to an end with the adjournment of the House on 9 February 2017 to enable the Department-related Parliamentary Committees to examine and report on the Demands for Grants of various Ministries/Departments. The House re-assembled on 9 March, 2017 for the second part of the Session and adjourned sine die, as scheduled, on 12 April, 2017. The sittings of the House scheduled to be held on 14 March and 3 April, 2017 were cancelled as per announcements made in the House on 10 and 31 March, 2017, respectively. The House was prorogued by the President of India on 12 April, 2017. In all, the House sat for 29 days. The total hours of sittings were 136 hours and 18 minutes. A resume of some of the important discussions held and other business transacted during the Session is as follows:

A. STATEMENTS/DISCUSSIONS Motion of Thanks to the President for his Address to the Members of Parliament: Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Hon’ble President of India addressed the Members of both Houses of Parliament on 31 January, 2017 in the Central Hall of the Parliament House. The Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address was moved by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology on 2 February, 2017. The discussion on the Motion of Thanks took place on 2, 6, 7 and 8 February, 2017. Moving the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology said that the Government led by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi was committed to bring about change in the country based on the principles of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’. People’s participation in the process of development was at the core of that ideology. He attributed the success of several programmes and initiatives launched by the Government to active participation of people in them such as celebration of International Yoga Day, Swachh Bharat Abhihyan, open defecation free India, ‘Beti Bachao,

* Contributed by the General Research Unit, LARRDIS, Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Sessional Review 173

Beti Padhao’ and ‘Sukanya Samridhi Yojana’. He asserted that all those programmes and initiatives had assumed the proportions of people’s movements under the leadership of Prime Minister. Referring to the change in nomination for conferring Padma Awards, he said that the Government recognized the contribution of unsung heroes and common men of the country by conferring Padma Awards on them. He said that the Government was committed to the welfare of the poor based on four principles i.e banking the unbanked, funding the unfunded, securing the unsecured and pensioning the unpensioned. He made a mention of ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’, Atal Pension Yojana, Mudra Loan Yojana, Crop Insurance Scheme, ‘Deendayal Jyoti Yojana’, etc. to highlight the pro-poor and change oriented approach of the Government. He emphasized that India was being hailed as the most promising economy by prominent international bodies as against the times of policy paralysis until recently. He asserted that India was host to the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). India had scaled great heights in ease of doing business. On the issue of demonetization, he said that it was not a standalone measure rather a part of the concerted efforts of the Government against black money ever since his party came to power. Despite hardships, people welcomed the demonetization as it was in the larger interest of the nation. He asserted that it was a transformational initiative taken by the Government. As regards the foreign policy initiatives of the Government, he emphasized that the biggest success of India’s foreign policy was that India emerged as a great power under the charismatic leadership of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. Touching upon the sacrifices made by the armed forces, he said that the Government implemented ‘One Rank, One Pension’ with full honesty by allocating C11,000 crore for its implementation. In regard to the infrastructure development, he asserted that earlier 73 km roads were being constructed per day which had gone up to 135 km per day. While emphasizing that the Government was for change, he said programmes like Digital India, Skill India, Start-up, Stand-up India, etc. were all transformational programmes designed to make India an empowered society. He said that the Government was committed to transform India into a new India. Participating in the discussion*, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of the Opposition referred to the concern expressed in the President’s Address

* Other Members who participated in the discussion: Sarvashri Neeraj Shekhar, A. Navaneethakrishnan, Derek O’Brien, Swapan Dasgupta, D. Raja, La. Ganesan, Rajeev Shukla, Sanjay Seth, Sharad Yadav, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Ahmed Patel, Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, V. Vijayasai Reddy, Joy Abraham, Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya, Dharmapuri Srinivas, Ramkumar Verma, Prem Chand Gupta, K.T.S. Tulsi, Ram Kumar Kashyap, T.K.S. Elangovan, K.C. Ramamurthy, Mahant Shambhuprasadji Tundiya, Narendra Kumar Swain, T.G. Venkatesh, Ram Vichar Netam, Narendra Budania, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Abdul Wahab, Prakash Javadekar, Ripun Bora, Ramdas Athawale, Anand Sharma, Shrimati Viplove Thakur and Shrimati Rajani Patil 174 The Journal of Parliamentary Information on the prevailing conditions in Jammu & Kashmir and said that Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat and Insaniyat had died a slow death in last two and half years. He added that maximum number of ceasefire violations by Pakistan took place in the year 2014-15 and 2015-16. Denouncing the Government’s claim of improvement in conditions in Jammu & Kashmir, he argued that more than double the number of security personnel had been killed in 2016 as compared to the figures of 2015. He said that the Government should come out with a solution to the problem rather than expressing mere concern on the conditions in the valley. He asserted that the Government had failed to curb infiltration and save the lives of security personnel. Citing the death of civilians in the prevailing unrest, he said that more than 90 civilians had been killed and 12000 were injured during confrontation with the security forces. He urged upon the Government to take some concrete steps to resolve the problem of Jammu & Kashmir. Referring to the demonetization, he said that contrary to the claims of the Government, demonetization had failed to curb black money, terrorism and counterfeit currency. Referring to the mention of the link between farmers’ welfare and nation’s prosperity in the President’s Address, he said that there was a 42 per cent increase in the number of suicides by the farmers during the year 2014-15. He said that demonetization had further compounded the misery of the farmers as a result of which they would not be able to lead a normal life for next ten years. He also referred to the expected decline in the GDP growth due to demonetization. He asserted that demonetization was an ill-conceived policy. As regards the promise of the Government for creation of 10 crore jobs, he said that not even one or two lakh jobs had been created. He said that the Government had failed on all fronts in last two and a half years. He added that 2016 had been a year of depression, recession, suppression and regression.

Joining the discussion, Shri Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said that instead of protecting the oppressed, there had been greater atrocities on them during the last one year and that too with official patronage. Referring to the demonetization, he asserted that it was the biggest disruption that had happened to our country, our life and our economy. It had disrupted the normal existence of a vast majority of people and their day-to-day livelihood. He added that demonetization had not achieved any of the four objectives which the Prime Minister had cited as reasons for demonetization. He said more money had come into the banks than what was demonetized. It meant that all the black money had been converted into white. Further, he said that informal economy which was 45 per cent of the GDP had been disrupted as almost 100 per cent transactions in informal economy were in cash. He emphasized that crores of people had been put to unnecessary sufferings by Sessional Review 175 demonetization. Referring to the likely decline in GDP growth by two per cent, he said that an economic slowdown had set in. Due to paucity of cash, farmers were forced to sell their produce at one half of the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Every industry in the manufacturing sector had shown a drop in sales and production. There was a massive surge in unemployment. Referring to the Economic Survey’s recommendation for expansion of public investment, he said that the Government, contrary to the recommendation, had contracted the budget as a proportion of the GDP. He stressed that as a result of this, the disruption of India’s economic story was happening. Touching upon the issue of electoral funding, he suggested that a law on the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be brought in for a fund for democracy to be administered by the Election Commission or the Government. Referring to widening inequalities, he said that one per cent of Indian population held 49 per cent of our GDP in 2014 when the NDA Government had assumed office. In 2016, that percentage had gone up to 58.4 per cent. In the context of non- performing assets of the banks, he said that the Government should waive of the loans of the farmers for the welfare and prosperity of India rather than the loans of the rich.

Intervening in the discussion, Shri Arun Jaitley, the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs, said that after assumption of office, the Government tried to speed up the programme of financial inclusion. As part of that, Jan Dhan accounts of that segment of the population were opened which was hitherto outside the banking system. By linking those accounts with Aadhaar, financial assistance under various Government schemes was being directly released into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. He informed that most of the inactive Jan Dhan accounts had become active. As regards the action against black money, he recalled that the first decision taken by Modi Government was to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in regard to black money as per the Supreme Court Order. Besides, steps were taken to seek information and assistance to track black money both at bilateral as well as multilateral levels. He said that bilateral tax treaties with Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore were re-written to ensure that they were not misused. An Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) was launched which became a great success as people made voluntary disclosure of their income. He added that the dormant Benami Act was amended and made operative. He asserted that the Government was making all out efforts to root out black money from the day one of its tenure. As regards demonetization, he said that it was of no credit to any economy that it dealt predominantly in cash as it had a lot of vices leading to a shadow and parallel economy. He said that he could name every country in the world which was a less-cash economy 176 The Journal of Parliamentary Information and which had made an effort to move in the direction of a less-cash economy. He argued that he could not think of anyone who propounded the virtues of dealing only in cash. As regards the lack of banking infrastructure as an impediment to less-cash economy, he said that Reserve Bank of India had taken the decision to open ‘Payment Banks’. Besides, lakhs of branches of telecom companies and post offices were being converted to such banks. As such those entities had been incorporated into the banking system. As per the cost element attached to various instruments of payment, he clarified that the cost element of credit cards was higher when compared to other instruments such as debit cards, e- wallets, UPI, etc. He further clarified that wherever the Government bodies were involved, they had already decided to absorb transaction costs/ charges in order to promote various non-cash methods of payment. Replying to the discussion, Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, thanked to the members who participated in the discussion and said that the entire discussion largely revolved around the issue of demonetization. He said that the battle against corruption and black money was not targeted against any political party. He underlined that the parallel economy had caused maximum damage to the poor. He felt that much more efforts were needed to root out the menace of black money. As regards counterfeit currency, he said that terrorism and Naxalism were being propped up with the help of such currency. He referred to the recommendation of the Wanchoo Committee for demonetization during the Government of Smt. Indira Gandhi. He asserted that counterfeit currency received a death blow on the day demonetization was announced. He said that it was essential to have adequate liquidity in the formal sector of the economy. As a result of demonetization, banks were flush with funds enabling them to lend more money to a common man. Referring to the coverage of demonetization by foreign media, he emphasized that it was so because there was no parallel of it world over. Nowhere in the world such a big decision had ever been taken. He spoke of a horizontal divide between political leaders and the people on the issue of demonetization. He said that the nation was working very hard to fight its internal vices. Citizens were willing to face hardships to fight the vices. He was of the view that the exemplary commitment of people of India must be demonstrated to the rest of the world with pride. He recalled the demand made by CPM leader Late Jyoti Basu for implementation of Wanchoo Committee Report in 1972 and asked the Left parties to support the Government in its fight against black money. As regards the digital system, he said that there was a need for behavioural change and change of mindset. He argued that cashless economy meant pushing the country gradually towards cashless transactions. He reasoned that it was not right to leave the pursuit of a goal just because it was full of hardships. He said that when the world Sessional Review 177 was moving towards paperless and premises-less banking, there was no reason why India should be left behind. In respect of direct benefit transfer, he said that the Government could save 50,000 crore due to direct benefit transfer scheme. The scheme did away with leakages and the middlemen. He urged that efforts should be made to promote digital payments in the country. He said that the Government, on its part, was doing all that it could do to promote online payments and internet banking. He also spoke of maintaining the dignity of institutions like Reserve Bank of India. He said that such institutions should be kept away from politics. He touched upon the constitution of Monetary Policy Committee of RBI and the autonomy devolved on it by the Government. Regarding the governance related reforms, he made a mention of self-attestation of documents, abolition of interview for non-gazetted posts, repealing of more than 1100 archaic laws, delivery of passport within a week, transparency in auction of natural resources like coal and launch of Government e-market place. As regards empowerment of women, he referred to various schemes launched by the Government such as Ujjawala Yojana, Mudra Yojana, Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana, Beti Bachao/Beti Padhao, Sukanya Smridhi Yojana, universalisation of Women Helpline-181, etc. Referring to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, he applauded the positive role being played by media in promoting the cleanliness drive across the country. As for the steps taken by the Government for empowerment of farmers, he made a mention of Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme, new fertilizer policy, promotion of cultivation of pulses to boost their production, launch of e-market for farmers, 100% FDI for food processing industry, etc. He concluded his reply by referring to launch of Ek Bharat - Shresth Bharat. All the amendments moved were either withdrawn or negatived and The Motion of Thanks was adopted.

Union Budget 2017-18: The Union Budget for the financial year 2017- 18 was laid on the Table of the House by Shri Arun Jaitley, the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs on 1 February, 2017 for the first time departing from the old convention of presenting/laying it on the last working day of February. Departure was also made by doing away with another old convention of presenting/laying a separate Rail Budget by merging it into the Union Budget. Discussion on the Budget took place on 9 February, 16, 20, 21 and 23 March, 2017. Initiating the discussion, Shri P. Chidambaram of the Indian National Congress (INC) said that the NDA Government had inherited an economy which grew by 6.1 and 6.9 per cent in the last two years of the UPA Government. He added that the average GDP growth in the ten year period of the UPA Government was 7.5 per cent. He complimented the 178 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

Government for setting an objective of having a growth rate higher than 7.5 per cent. He said that the Government had achieved a growth rate of 7.6 and 7.5 per cent in the first two years of its tenure while referring to the revised methodology for calculation of GDP by the Government. He argued that 7.6 and 7.5 per cent would translate only to about 5.7 and 5.5 per cent if calculated by the earlier methodology. Further, he added that India was amongst the fastest growing large economies of the world and asserted that it was not for the first time that such a distinction was achieved. However, the Government made the most-terrible mistake in India’s economic history i.e. demonetization which had interrupted India’s growth story. Referring to the budget document, he underlined that the Government had not put a number on the GDP growth rate for 2016- 2017 as it was not sure as to how much economy would grow in 2016- 2017. He emphasized that it was widely accepted that 2016-2017 would witness a hit on the GDP by one or two per cent which would spill over to the financial year 2017-2018. He argued that in the backdrop of a slowdown, the Government had contracted its expenditure. He said that public expenditure was being contracted as a percentage of GDP. As a result, the economy was going to suffer. He added that the gross fixed capital formation had declined over the last three years. He added that private investment was also not taking place. He reasoned that if the overarching goal was to give a boost to the economy, the strategy followed by Government in its budget, was absolutely wrong. While citing the job creation target of the Government, he said that as against a target of two crore jobs, the Government could create only 1.5 lakh jobs in 2015-2016. In the current year, creation of jobs might not be even near that figure because demonetization had badly hurt the jobs. He asserted that the budget did not have a strategy to create jobs; to attract private investment; and to expand employment in both organized as well as unorganized sector. As regards the plight of farmers, he pointed out that there was no reference to minimum support price in the entire budget speech. He asked as to why the Government was not implementing the recommendation of Swaminathan Committee vis-a-vis the Minimum Support Price. Referring to the decline in private investment and consumption after demonetization, he argued that the way forward was to boost aggregate demand for which the tried, tested and proven method was to cut the indirect taxes. He said that instead of cutting the indirect taxes across the board, the exact opposite and wrong thing was done by cutting the direct taxes. As regards demonetization, he said that it was not the right instrument for putting an end to black money, corruption and counterfeiting. He concluded by saying that budget was a demonstrable failure of economic management. It would not take the country forward and would not lift people out of poverty. Sessional Review 179

Joining the discussion2, Shri Ajay Sancheti of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the focus of the Government was on reforming the old system and extending the benefits to the neglected sections of the society. He said that the Government had inherited corruption, arbitrariness, huge non-performing assets and misuse of resources. In that backdrop, many provisions were made in the three successive budgets by the Government for all sectors of the economy to take the nation forward. Referring to the crop insurance scheme, he said that its coverage had been widened to enable the farmers to cope with natural calamities. As regards growth of infrastructure, he said that the network of highways was expanding at a faster pace. Regarding the merger of erstwhile Rail Budget with the General Budget, he said that it was done to give infrastructure status to the Railways. He said that adequate budgetary provisions had been made for multi-fold growth of the Railways and shipping sectors. Further, he said that the world economy was in an extremely bad shape. However, adequate provisions were made in the budget to maintain the sustainability of industry in such difficult times. In respect of demonetization, he said that it was a big check on corruption, heavy reduction in black money, huge reduction in terror and cross-border funding, huge availability of funds to the Government, strengthening of banking institutions and availability of the funds for the development of infrastructure and for use in the society. He argued that demonetization had left a positive impact on the people. He urged upon the opposition to be a partner with the Government in its agenda of development. He commended the budget as a model document which would determine the present and future course of the people. Participating in the discussion, Shri Naresh Agrawal of Samajwadi Party (SP) referred to the decline in the percentage of agriculture in the GDP and said that the Government did not consult the farmers while preparing the budget. He emphasized that the farmers were not getting minimum support price for their produce. He referred to the drop in overall rate of GDP growth from 8 per cent to 7 per cent. He cautioned that any further drop in the GDP growth would have adverse impact on employment generation in the country. Further, he added that industrial production had dropped to one per cent. Referring to demonetization, he wanted to know as to how many currency notes of C1000/- and C500/- denomination

2 Other Members who participated in the discussion: Sarvashri Prabhat Jha, Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Tapan Kumar Sen, D. Raja, Jairam Ramesh, Harivansh, V. Vijaysai Reddy, Shantaram Naik, Rangasayee Ramakrishna, Vivek Gupta, K. Somaprasad, P. Bhattacharya, Basawaraj Patil, Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu, Shankarbhai N. Vegad, R. Vaithilingam, Prof. M.V. Rajeev Gowda, Mahesh Poddar, A. Navaneethakrishnan, Joy Abraham, Ripun Bora, Meghraj Jain, N. Gokulakrishnan, Digvijaya Singh, Dr. Vikas Mahatme, K. R. Arjunan, Madhusudan Mistry, Narendra Budania, Naresh Gujral, Ram Kumar Kashyap and Shrimati Jharna Das Baidya 180 The Journal of Parliamentary Information had been issued by the Reserve Bank of India prior to demonetization. As regards the waiver of farmers’ loan, he wanted to know Government’s stand in clear terms. He asserted that subsidies meant for the farmers were being reduced continuously and at the same time farmers were not getting good returns on their produce. He said that suicides by farmers must be stopped. He stressed that farmers needed to be encouraged. He requested the Government to nominate at least two farmers in the Committee on MSP so that the voice of the farmers could also be heard. He said that import of food grains and pulses must be discouraged by levying heavy import duty on them. He demanded that farmers should get one and a half times price for their produce. As for poverty alleviation, he urged upon the Government to clearly define the poverty line and take necessary steps to alleviate poverty. He expressed his concern for unemployment in the country and said that it might lead to flight of talent from the country. He drew the attention to the declining standard of education in the country. He was of the view that education must be made compulsory for girls. As regards the non-performing assets of the banks, he demanded that names of high value loan defaulters must be disclosed by doing away with the secrecy clause of the banks. Referring to the high price of petrol and diesel despite decline in international oil prices, he expressed the view that inflation could be checked in the country by lowering the price of petroleum products. Joining the discussion, Shri Tiruchi Siva of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) said that demonetization had not achieved its intended purposes but its unintended consequences had devastated the lives of poor people and had crippled the economy. He pointed out that there was no mention in the budget of ways, methods and means to unearth black money from other sources. He argued that a shadow economy was prevalent in all developing countries of the world but no country had resorted to demonetization. He asserted that it was a myth that demonetization would curtail black money and stop counterfeit currency. He said that it was expected that the Finance Minister would disclose in his budget speech as to how much black money had been unearthed through demonetization but nothing had come out. He said that the intention behind demonetization was good but its poor implementation had spoiled everything. He questioned as to why the Government was pushing for cashless society when only 47 per cent of the population was having bank accounts. Moreover, only 16.1 per cent had the facility of internet connectivity and a majority of people were not internet literate. Touching upon the disinvestment of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), he asserted that the Government was very keen on disinvesting PSUs. He said that if the private sector was earning something, it was the wealth of one person but if the public sector was earning something, it was the wealth of the country. He added that if the PSUs were failing somewhere, the need was to go into the Sessional Review 181 reasons and plug the loopholes. He urged upon the Government to look into the revival and restructuring of PSUs. He asserted that the resilience of the PSUs alone would save the economy of the country. He requested the Government not to go for disinvestment of PSUs. He also raised the issue of non-payment of scholarships to students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Referring to the mention of promotion of contract farming in the country in the budget speech of the Finance Minister, he said that the practice of contract farming reduced farm income, increased the prices for consumers and increased the margin for procurement firms. It benefited individuals, victimized the farmers and penalized the consumers. It was a system which had grossly reduced the independence of farmers. He emphasized that India could withstand the effects of 2008 recession only due to self-sufficient agriculture and PSUs. He alleged that the Government was trying to kill both the sectors. He urged upon the Government to find out some means to encourage the traditional agriculture methods and save the farmers. Joining the discussion, Shri Anil Desai of Shiv Sena (SS) said that the budget had focussed mainly on farming sector, rural population, health for underprivileged, infrastructure, financial sector, public services, prudent fiscal management and tax management. He added that the budget had laid special emphasis on the agriculture sector and was aimed at increasing farmer’s income. Besides, the emphasis of the Government was on additional income generation for farmers through allied agro industries mainly dairy farming. Further, he said that the Government had set a target to cover crop insurance acreage to 40 per cent in 2017-18 and 50 per cent in 2018-19 to save farmers’ losses in case of a crop failure. While welcoming the measures taken by the Government to boost the morale of farmers, he asserted that the need of the hour was farm loan waiver. He hoped that the Government would come to the rescue of the farming community by declaring much awaited farm loan waiver. While touching upon the Government’s target to bring one crore rural households out of poverty by 2019, he referred to one per cent increase in the budget of MGNREGA and said that it was the only source of income for households in the absence of other means of livelihood in the rural economy. He said that the enhanced budgetary provision would support rural populace. As regards welfare of women and children, he said that the allocation of C1.84 lakh crore for various schemes across all Ministries was much needed. Referring to the budget provisions for the transportation sector as a whole, he said that immediate attention and remedial steps were needed to do away with old system of manned railway crossings and bring the number of accidents to zero by improving the signalling system. As regards the budgetary provisions for recapitalization of public sector banks, he said that the earmarked budgetary allocation would not be 182 The Journal of Parliamentary Information sufficient as the NPAs of the PSU banks had reached alarming proportions. He added that unless stringent steps were taken to recover the loan from major defaulters, NPAs would keep on mounting and would further deteriorate the conditions of the banks. Replying to the discussion, Shri Arun Jaitley, the Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Defence asserted that the Government fully stood by the demonetization as it was eminently required in the larger interest of the Indian economy. He added that India had become largely a non-compliant society in terms of taxation in last seven decades. A society in which finding ways and methods to by-pass both direct and indirect tax systems had become a regular practice. He said that tax non-compliance was a problem for both the Union as well as the State Governments. He added that when the economy of the country revolved around cash transactions, the problems associated with cash transactions would continue to crop up. He asked if it was proper to keep adding the cash component to the economy when the alternate avenues of running the economy were available. He said that a large part of the economy could move towards banking transactions. Further, he said that the money which used to circulate in the society with anonymity had reached the banks due to demonetization. The ownership of such money had been determined. He informed that in a country having a population of 125 crore, there were only 76 lakh taxpayers out of which 61 lakh were salaried tax payers. He emphasized that demonetization had dealt a severe blow to the shadow economy. He visualized that the size of the formal economy would grow as a result of the digitalization campaign in the times to come. He admitted that some sectors of the informal economy would face some difficulties but the informal economy would integrate with the formal economy gradually. He also made a mention of other steps taken by the Government to curb black money such as constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money, enactment of anti- black money law to target undisclosed income in foreign banks, the Benami Act, bilateral and multi-lateral co-operation with several countries to track black money, renegotiation of bilateral treaties with three countries to put an end to round-tripping of foreign capital and launch of a voluntary income disclosure scheme. He said that the people had supported the Government’s efforts to transform the system. As regards the Goods and Services Tax (GST), he said that the GST Council had become India’s first federal decision making body as it enjoyed the right to determine indirect taxation. He emphasized that all decisions of the GST Council were taken with unanimity. As regards the revenue target mentioned in the budget estimate, he expressed the confidence that it would exceed the target. Regarding budgetary sub-plans for schedule castes and schedule Sessional Review 183 tribes, he clarified that after the merger of plan and non-plan components, there would be no impact on those funds as the formula for them would remain intact. As for the growth of GDP, he said that it depended on several factors both domestic as well as international. He said that last three years had been extremely challenging as far as the world economy was concerned. He added that it was a real challenge to maintain 7.5 per cent plus or minus growth rate and to be the fastest growing economy among the major economies of the world. Further, he said that it was a significant year as the date of the budget had been advanced and as such the financial exercise would be complete by 1st of April so that everybody was in a position to start spending from 1st of April. He added that the plan and non-plan distinction had also been done away with and the Rail Budget had been merged with the General Budget. The year would also witness the roll out of goods and services tax. In regard to provisions relating to electoral reforms in the budget, he said that an outline was provided with a view to have clean political funding. He referred to the provision of a new ceiling of C2000 for cash donations as suggested by the Election Commission and the scheme of electoral bonds. He added that electoral bonds would ensure receipt and deposit of clean money by the political parties and the donors, respectively. Touching upon the NPAs of the PSU banks, he said they pertained to 20-30 big accounts and they were increasing because the interest on them was accumulating. He said that banks needed capital and that is why some capital was infused into them. If needed, the Government would try to make more capital available to them.

Short Duration Discussion on Electoral Reforms: A short duration discussion on Electoral Reforms took place on 22 March, 2017. Initiating the discussion, Shri Mukul Roy of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) said that it was timely thinking on the part of the House to take up a discussion on electoral reforms. He stated that his party had always been insisting on undertaking electoral reforms. He further said that elections at regular intervals were the most important feature of democracy. In other words, elections symbolized the sovereignty of the people. As such free and fair elections were indispensable for the success of democracy. Referring to the elections held since 1952 to both national as well as state legislative bodies, he opined that there was a lot of room to improve the system of electioneering in India. He said that the Election Commission of India had always been proactive in removing obstacles to free and fair elections. It had made numerous recommendations to the Government for changing the existing laws to check the electoral malpractices. Referring to the reports of various Committees on electoral reforms, he said that Election Commission of India had constantly been trying to bring 184 The Journal of Parliamentary Information improvements in election procedures. As a part of this process, the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) had heralded revolutionary changes in the conduct of free and fair elections. That initiative made the electoral process simple, quick and trouble free. However, doubts had arisen regarding the functioning of EVMs. He was of the view that the Election Commission of India should take appropriate care of the concerns about EVMs to assure the people that EVMs were not a hindrance to the true reflection of people’s will and could not be tampered. He added that computerization of electoral rolls was another major step taken by the Election Commission. He observed that India had been continuously undertaking electoral reforms but there was still room to make the democratic processes more relevant and responsive. Referring to 244th and 255th Reports of the Law Commission, he said that the two reports together provided a comprehensive assessment of our electoral system. He touched upon the need to review the powers of the Election Commission which exercised absolute powers especially during the course of elections. He felt that there was no mechanism to address the grievances against the functioning of the Election Commission. He opined that the Election Commission should be made more liable to the people’s will under a certain framework of regulations. As regards the state funding of elections, he emphasized that his party was always in favour of the state funding of elections. Referring to some measures announced by the Finance Minister in his budget speech vis-à-vis funds received by political parties, he said that those measures were actually not what they were claimed to be. He stressed that funding of political parties and elections should be crystal clear so as to evoke confidence in the minds of the people. He proposed that the House should consider the state funding of elections. He opined that a corpus of funds could be formed under the Election Commission which could distribute the funds to the candidates of the registered political parties on the basis of theory of proportionate distribution. He was of the view that any reforms initiated should be on the basis of political consensus. Joining the discussion3, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of the Opposition said that the Election Commission had been performing its constitutional duties in every election since 1951 and tried to do justice to all. The Election Commission considered and tried to implement the suggestions which came from any corner at any time to keep the confidence of the people intact in the electoral process. He further added that it was a matter of pride for us that a number of countries studied our constitution

3 Other Members who participated in the discussion: Sarvashri Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav, Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, Satish Chandra Misra, Prakash Javadekar, V. Vijayasai Reddy, D. Raja, Rajeev Shukla, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Anil Desai, Pramod Tiwari, Dr. Vinay P. Sahasrabuddhe, Biswajit Daimary, T.K.S. Elangovan, D.P. Tripathi, Shrimati Vandana Chavan and Shrimati Rajani Patil Sessional Review 185 and electoral process, and followed them in their own way. He said that the EVMs were introduced by the Election Commission to overcome the use of muscle and money power in the elections. Besides, a uniform expenditure limit was also fixed for the candidates. As regards the electoral funding, he wanted to know the Government’s stand on the issue. He was of the view that there should be a ceiling on the expenditure incurred by political parties to contest elections. Such expenditure incurred by political parties should be audited and be placed before the Parliament to ensure transparency. He stated that doubts were being raised over the use of EVMs. World over many countries had discontinued the use of EVMs given the doubts being expressed over them. In that backdrop, the Supreme Court of India passed an order in October, 2013 for introduction of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) equipped EVMs. The Election Commission estimated an expenditure of 3100 crore for installation of VVPAT system in 16 lakh EVMs. Since then Election Commission had been demanding allocation of the requisite funds for the purpose, but to no avail. He wondered if the delay in allocation of funds did not cast doubts about Government’s intention. He urged upon the government to be receptive to the suggestions for electoral reforms and carry them out to ensure that India remained the largest democracy of the world. Participating in the discussion, Shri Bhupender Yadav of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the impartiality of the Election Commission of India needed to be commended and accepted which was essential for democracy in the country. He observed that frequent elections to various legislative bodies were having a bearing on the governance. The need of the hour was to consider the suggestion to hold simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Such a step would result in saving the expenditure of political parties on contesting elections. He said that his party favoured less expenditure on elections. He also spoke in favour of having internal democracy in political parties. As regards the funding of political parties, he referred to the provisions announced by the Finance Minister in his budget speech, namely, reduction in ceiling of political funding from C20,000/- to C2,000/- and introduction of a political bond. He said that all political parties should give their suggestions to remove the influence of black money on politics. He also touched upon the need to have permanent elector numbers for all voters. He was of the view that all political parties should have level playing field in the elections. While appreciating the introduction of e-ballot for armed forces personnel, he said that e-ballot was the way forward in times to come. Replying to the discussion, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Minister of Law and Justice and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, said that an extensive discussion took place on electoral reforms and 186 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

EVMs. Referring to the role of Election Commission, he emphasized that the role played by the Election Commission as an autonomous institution in taking the elections in the country to such a height must be appreciated by one and all. The changes in the electoral process ushered in by the Election Commission with the changing times must also be lauded. He added that there was a time when violence and booth capturing was usual part of the election process and now we all should be proud of the fact that booth capturing has become a thing of the past. As regards the allegations of tampering of EVMs, he stated that it was unfair to attribute the electoral successes of his party in Lok Sabha and various state assembly elections to the tampering of EVMs. He asked if the electoral victories of parties in opposition were also due to tampering of EVMs. He stressed that the mandate of the people given to any political party must be respected. While tracing back the introduction of EVMs in India, he recalled that Dinesh Goswami Committee had recommended the use of EVMs for elections. After passing through the scrutiny of a Technical Evaluation Committee consisting of noted technical experts from IITs, the EVMs were used by the Election Commission. Underlining the advantages of EVMs, he said that there was no scope of invalid voting in the EVMs. More importantly, the EVMs had eliminated the menace of booth capturing to a very large extent. He emphasized that EVMs had brought sanctity and accountability in the electoral process. He informed that the EVMs were being manufactured by two PSUs of the Government of India, namely, Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Electronics Corporation of India. Due to obvious security reasons, PSUs alone were allowed to manufacture the EVMs. Defending the use of EVMs in India as compared to some of the countries which were not using them, he stated that we must learn to have trust in our country. He also referred to judgments of some of the High Courts which upheld the use of EVMs and allayed the apprehensions about their misuse. Besides, the Election Commission, on its part, had insisted general public several times to expose the deficiencies in the EVMs. Surprisingly, nobody turned up to do so. As regards the demand for inclusion of party’s expenditure in the expenditure ceiling of the candidate, he said that such a move would eat into the budget of the candidate and left him/her with little or no funds for his/ her campaign. Further, he said that as elections were called a festival of democracy, there was a need to relax the model code of conduct in order to keep the spirit of the festival alive. As for paid news, he said that the Law Commission had recommended for extensive deliberations in the matter and an amendment to the Representation of People Act. He said that the Government was in favour of discussing the matter with the Press Council of India. He felt that there was a need for a discussion on the issue of paid news. In relation to the state funding of elections, he said that the Law Commission was requested to hold a Sessional Review 187 thread bare discussion in the matter. The Law Commission, in its report, had observed that given the prevailing situation in the country there was no need to have a provision for state funding. The issue, however, needed to be discussed further. Insofar as paper trail of the votes polled, he said that the Supreme Court had observed that paper trail must be established in a phased manner. The Election Commission was looking into it. He added that there were 85 crore voters and 16 lakh polling booths in the country. There were several logistical, storage, maintenance and security related issued in making provision for paper trail. Besides, it could be executed by the same PSUs who manufactured the EVMs. He said that the Supreme Court had ordered its implementation in phased manner keeping in view those factors. Accordingly, it was being done in phased manner for which no financial constraint would be allowed to impede its progress. He added that it was for the Election Commission to decide in how many phases it would be completed. He concluded by saying that EVM was a time tested machine and one must learn to respect the mandate of the people.

Short Duration Discussion on Aadhaar - its implementation and implications: A short duration discussion on Aadhaar - its implementation and implications took place on 10 April, 2017. Initiating the discussion, Shri Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Independent, said that his views on Aadhaar had been consistent since 2010 which revolved around inherent flaws and weak architecture of Aadhaar. He said that UPA Government spent thousands of crores of rupees on Aadhaar without any legislative backing for it. Besides, there was no provision for legal accountability for the authenticity of the biometric database which was created with very poor verification of identities and without any details of citizenship. The only time Aadhaar was scrutinized was by the Standing Committee on Finance which observed that the database was going to be ineffective even for the purpose of directing subsidies and recommended that it must be merged with National Population Register. Further, he said that the NDA Government inherited the unverified database and went on to address its shortcomings. The Government brought the Aadhaar Bill, repositioned it as a subsidy-delivery platform and encouraged parliamentary debate on the subject. It had also addressed the issue of lack of verification and fake entries by making the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) statutorily responsible for verifying the entries through Section 3.3 of the Aadhaar Act. He said that from there started the real problem. The Aadhaar Act came into existence in 2016 and before that hundred crore entries were there in the Aadhaar database. Those entries did not fall under the purview of Section 3.3 of the Act. He wanted to know who was responsible for verifying those hundred crore entries. 188 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

He also wanted to know as to what had been done since 2016 to ensure that Section 3.3 of the Act had been complied with in respect of all pre- 2016 entries in Aadhaar database. He observed that Aadhaar, to a large extent, remained an unverified database with no one to certify if the name or ID against the biometric was correct. The problem compounded by the fact that all government Departments and agencies were washing their hands off vis-à-vis the verification of entries by creating the entries as per Section 3.3. He further said that another issue was to deliver subsidies. He believed that Aadhaar must be developed into the gateway to deliver subsidies. He urged that the regulations and guidelines of UIDAI needed to be subject to more stringent oversight. He suggested the setting up of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on the issue of national identity. The third issue was that of data integrity and the broader issue of privacy. With the expansion of Aadhaar to new areas, more and more concerns about its design, operation and misuse had surfaced. Those concerns needed to be addressed. He said that Aadhaar needed to evolve from an unverified biometric database into a robust, reliable and authentic national identity platform. Participating in the discussion4, Shri Jairam Ramesh of Indian National Congress (INC) said that it was the UPA Government which conceived and laid the foundations of Aadhaar. He said that those who opposed Aadhaar were embarking on an aggressive expansion of Aadhaar. He said that there were two issues which bothered him. The first issue had legal dimensions inasmuch as the current stand of the Government was in violation of successive orders of the Supreme Court. The second issue was the implementation issue. He emphasized that Aadhaar was becoming an instrument of exclusion rather than becoming an instrument of identity. Elaborating the legal issue, he said that there were three Supreme Court judgements delivered between 2015 and 2016 which clearly defined where Aadhaar could be used and where it must be used, not mandatorily, by giving the beneficiary an option. By making Aadhaar mandatory, the Government was in gross violation of successive judgements of the Supreme Court. Further, he said that his major concern was with the way Aadhaar was being used to exclude people from schemes which were designed for them. Referring to the saving of 50,000 crore on account of the Direct Benefit Transfer system through Aadhaar, he said that it was highly questionable. Referring to the CAG Report, he said that savings on LPG subsidy to the tune of 30,000 crore as claimed by the Government were largely due to decline in international oil prices. Further, he argued that

4 Other Members who participated in the discussion: Sarvashri Dr. Vinay P. Sahasrabuddhe, Ravi Prakash Verma, A. Navaneethakrishnan, Derek O’brien, C.P. Narayanan, K.T.S. Tulsi, V. Vijayasai Reddy, Ripun Bora, Shiv Pratap Shukla, Tiruchi Siva and La. Gangesan Sessional Review 189 maximum exclusion of beneficiaries was taking place in three programmes of the Government, namely, PDS, MGNREGA and old-age pension scheme. He drew the attention to the public distribution system of Rajasthan where biometric identification had been made mandatory to draw rations and said that only 74 per cent beneficiaries could draw wheat ration in March 2017 meaning thereby that 26 per cent of the beneficiaries who could draw ration were not drawing. That was exclusion which resulted into savings. He stressed that the people who had ration cards and entitlements were not getting their entitlements because of fifty different types of errors in authentication. He also referred to the exclusion of beneficiaries of old-age pension scheme and gave an example of Rajasthan where names of ten lakh beneficiaries were deleted. Similarly, in case of MGNREGA as well, there were large scale exclusions. He emphasized that the UPA never conceived of Aadhaar as an instrument of exclusion. However, in actual practice, it was becoming an instrument of exclusion. Joining the discussion, Shri D. Raja of Communist Party of India (CPI) said that his party did not fully support Aadhaar and still had strong reservations on it. He fully endorsed the views expressed by Shri Jairam Ramesh in case of PDS, MGNREGA, old-age pension and Mid-Day Meal Scheme. He said that Aadhaar excluded the poor and marginalized people. He was of the view that Aadhaar had become an obstacle for people in getting their genuine social security benefits. He said that biometrics changed with age and wanted to know as to how the Government was going to address that issue. As regards data security and privacy of the citizens, he said that citizens should feel that they were living in an independent country and they should feel secure and free. He drew the attention to an agreement signed by the UIDAI with a firm from the United States of America to manage the massive data collected for Aadhaar. He wanted to know if the data was safe and secure with that foreign company. He emphasized that it was a question of national security and sovereignty as well as freedom and security of citizens. He said that privacy of the citizens needed to be protected and Government would have to address the issue in all seriousness. Replying to the discussion, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Minister of Law and Justice and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, illustrated the misuse of subsidies by way of a few examples vis-à-vis various schemes and programmes of the Government. He complimented the UPA Government for conceiving of Aadhaar. He recalled the instructions of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for an in-depth understanding of Aadhaar, giving it a legal framework and using it in the larger interest of the country as an instrument of change. He added that it was that thinking which led to the enactment of the Aadhaar Act. Referring to the two interim orders of the Supreme Court passed in 2015 for permitting 190 The Journal of Parliamentary Information the release of subsidies to Aadhaar card holders, he said that as Aadhaar was being implemented through an executive order till then, the Aadhaar Act provided the legal framework for it. The act also provided for the architecture for Aadhaar. He said that Aadhaar was now being governed by the mandate of the Aadhaar Act passed by the Parliament. He underlined that the whole ecosystem of Aadhaar was governed by the Aadhaar Act. He asserted that Aadhaar was safe and the data collected for it was secure. He explained that only minimum data containing core biometrics and demographic information was collected for Aadhaar. He elaborated that core biometrics meant finger print, iris scan or such other biological attributes. The demographic information included name, date of birth, address and any other information. It did not include race, religion, caste, ethnicity, language, income or medical history, etc. E-mail and mobile number were optional. He emphasized that there was minimum information and maximum utilization. He informed that the country had 113 crore Aadhaar cards till date. As regards the issue of privacy, he said that Aadhaar contained only minimum information and there was no profiling of the card holder in it. He informed that in last six years 34,000 operators of Aadhaar who tried to pollute the system or tried to make fake Aadhaar cards were blacklisted. He said that there was a proper oversight system available which was being done with maximum authority as the issue of privacy was important. He further added that disclosure of biometrics and other data without the consent of the card holder would invite prosecution under Section 29 (1) of the Act. He emphatically denied that Aadhaar was linked to NATGRID and clarified that any such linkage would be violative of Section 29 of the Act. He made it clear that no poor would be denied his/her subsidy rights at all, whether it was mid-day meal or any other benefit. He reiterated that Aadhaar was robust, safe, secure and totally accountable to the Parliament through Ministry of Information and Technology. Discussion on the Working of the Ministry of Railways: A discussion on the working of the Ministry of Railways took place on 23, 29 and 30 March 2017. Initiating the discussion, Shri Javed Ali Khan of the Samajwadi Party (SP) said that Railways was perhaps the largest Department of the Government working in the public sector which employed 13.5 lakh personnel and served crores of people. He appreciated the performance of the Railways and emphasised on four aspects of Railways i.e. passenger services, employees’ welfare, passenger safety and development and maintenance of Railways. As regards the passenger amenities, he said that there was a complete mismatch between the fare being charged and the amenities being provided to the passengers by the Railways. He questioned the introduction of dynamic pricing in some of the trains and Sessional Review 191 demanded that it be done away with. He asserted that Railways should focus on improving the passenger amenities. He was of the view that cleanliness of the trains should be linked with ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ of the Government. Further, he pointed out that the problem of late arrival of trains was causing hardship to the passengers for long. The problem worsened during the winter season due to fog. He said that anti-fog devices of Railways had failed as nearly 51 per cent of trains were running late during the winter. In regard to the discontinuation of passenger trains, he requested that the trains which were largely used by the poor people should not be discontinued. He demanded that the recommendations of the Passengers Amenities Committee of the Railways should be implemented. As regards the welfare of the employees of the Railways, he said that the condition of the employees of the Railways was better than the employees of other Departments of the Government. But still there were several disparities and irregularities e.g. the principle of ‘same work – same pay’ was not being followed. The issues of pay anomalies and career progression of employees were persisting for long. The regularization of adhoc employees was also lagging behind. As for the rail safety, he emphasized that the shortage of manpower was a key factor in rail safety. He pointed out that there were as many as 2.25 lakh Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ vacancies in Railways which directly affected the safety of Railways. He underlined the importance of filling up such a huge backlog of vacancies with a view to improve rail safety. In relation to the development and maintenance of Railways, he said that a number of schemes used to be announced as part of Rail Budget but their implementation was very tardy. He made a specific mention of some of the projects and demanded that they should be executed expeditiously. He added that the allocation of funds for imparting training to the employees of the Railways was meagre and as such needed to be enhanced with a view to improve the services of Railways. As regards the death of passengers in train accidents, he demanded that sections 123 and 124 of the Railway Act, 1989 needed to be amended to give due compensation to the next of kin of all deceased passengers. Participating in the discussion5, Shri Mukul Roy of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) said that the theme of the Union Budget 2017-18 was ‘Transform, Energise and Clean India’. He wanted to know what role the

5 Other Members who participated in the discussion: Sarvashri Narendra Budania, Ram Vichar Netam, D. Bandyopadhyay, Ram Nath Thakur, T.K. Rangarajan, Rajaram, Sanjay Raut, Shwait Malik, V. Vijayasai Reddy, Shiv Pratap Shukla, Husain Dalwai, Alok Tiwari, K.K. Ragesh, T.K.S. Elangovan, Ripun Bora, Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu, Dr. Prabhakar Kore, Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, Pramod Tiwari, Mahendra Singh Mahra, Rajeev Shukla, Chunibhai Kanjibhai Gohel, Lal Sinh Vadodia, Ch. Sukhram Singh Yadav, Ramkumar Verma, Basawaraj Patil, Harivansh, Mahesh Poddar, P.L. Punia, Harshvardhan Singh Dungarpur, Jairam Ramesh, Shrimati Chhaya Verma, Shrimati Vandana Chavan, Shrimati Sarojini Hembram 192 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

Government expected the Indian Railways to play in that pursuit when all possible attempts were being made to downgrade the importance of Railways in the national economy. He said that the Government was yet to come up with a definite answer as to how clubbing the Rail Budget with the General Budget would lead to better fiscal management as recommended by the Bibek Debroy Committee. Arguing as to why the Railways should have a separate budget, he emphasized that the size and scope of the Railways Ministry was indeed huge as compared to other Ministries. It was an operational Ministry which earned as well as spent. Its gross earnings of C1.68 lakh crore in 2015-16 were among the highest for any organization in India. He wondered if the Government was suggesting that the Railways was incapable of putting the public money to good use by clubbing the Rail Budget with the Union Budget. Referring to the initiatives vis-à-vis the Railways announced in the budget speech of the Finance Minister, he said that it might be appropriate to comment that the initiatives seemed to acknowledge the fact that the Railways was losing its share in both freight and premium passenger services to alternative modes of transport necessitating an integrated approach to greater safety, cleanliness and passenger comfort. While touching upon the deaths in rail accidents, he demanded that the recommendations of the Anil Kakokdar Committee on Safety and the Sam Pitroda Committee on modernization should be implemented to minimize accidental deaths. As regards the delay in execution of rail projects leading to cost escalation, he opined that the Railways needed to engage in a dialogue with respective State Governments to resolve the issues which were coming in the way of execution of projects. He also opined that an institutionalized method of monitoring progress of railway projects would be required after the merger of Rail Budget with the Union Budget. In regard to the setting up of a Rashtriya Rail Suraksha Kosh with a corpus of C1 lakh crore for five years, he said that the Government was yet to make clear the structural mechanism for the proposed Kosh, timeline for its formation and the initial contribution to be made by it. He asserted that the Government was less than serious about the key issues of rail safety and security. Replying to the discussion, Shri Suresh Prabhu, the Minister of Railways said that a strategy and road map was needed to live up to the expectations which the people had with the Railways. Referring to the challenges before the Railways, he asserted that those were challenges for India. He added that those challenges could be overcome with a plan. He said that the first budget (2015-16) presented by him laid out the plan, the subsequent budget (2016-17) was in continuation of the same road map and the budget for 2017-18 presented by the Finance Minister was also in the Sessional Review 193 same direction. He put on record that Shri Narendra Modi was the first Prime Minister who was trying to put so much emphasis on the development of Railways. He added that the entire weight of the Government was behind the Railways. While mentioning some interesting points about Railways, he said that only 16 per cent of the Railways network handled more than 60 per cent of traffic. Many lines were overused and working at 150 per cent of their capacity in some cases. Referring to the various decisions taken to make investments in track replacement, technology upgradation and changes in internal processes, he said that Railways was going to make capital expenditure of C3,50,000 crore. The funds were being raised by going beyond traditional source of money i.e. budgetary support. Further, he said that investment in Railways as a percentage of GDP had gone down considerably over a period of time. As a matter of fact the investment in Railways was going down and the investment in the competitive sector was going up. As a result, the Railways was losing revenue. He said that Railways not only suffered from under- investment but also from investment in wrong places. He added that in order to reverse that trend as well as to address the issues mentioned in the White Paper brought out by Railways, investment was being made in the right places. He informed that a comprehensive plan for investment of C8.5 lakh crore in the next five years had been prepared. He made a mention of C1.5 lakh crore raised from Life Insurance Corporation of India and the willingness of several international financial institutions to make investment in Railways. He opined that the country as a whole must find out new ways of financing infrastructure not just Railways because infrastructure could not be financed from the current revenues of the concerned organizations. He informed that it was decided to adopt a new model by constituting debt-equity based joint venture companies. Referring to the reform process initiated in the Railways, he made a mention of the plan to usher in transparency in the operation of the Railways, delegation of authority to General Managers to take commercial decisions, digitalization and enterprise resource planning. He said that digitalization would transform the Railways in a big way. As regards the accounting reform, he said that it was decided to focus on outlays, outputs and outcomes with the integration of management accounting system, costing, book- keeping and MIS. As for a regulatory framework for Railways, he said that considerable progress had been made in that regard and it was likely to be concluded soon. He recalled his budget speech and said that Railways was developing a Project Development Organization for development and planning of the projects. It would institutionalize the structure of project implementation. As regards the Board level changes, he said that a post of Member (Track) had been created. He informed that a new R&D organization called SUTRA was being created for Railways. A Transformation Cell had also been created with full empowerment to 194 The Journal of Parliamentary Information implement various ideas. He summed up that the reform measures were aimed at making the organization accountable, transparent and efficient with the ability to deliver on time with proper responsibilities. Referring to the tendering process of Railways, he informed that almost all tenders would be on e-tendering platform. As regards the commissioning of broad gauge lines, he said that the target had gone up to 10 km. per day. Regarding electrification rail lines, he said that earlier it used to be 1200 kms per annum which had substantially gone up to 2000 kms in the current year and would further go up to 4000 kms in the next year. Further, he informed that all State capitals of the North Eastern region had been connected with broad gauge network. As regards the dedicated freight corridor, he informed that tenders worth C24,000 crore had been finalized. All unmanned railway crossings would be removed in next three years. He further informed that new Suburban Transport Policy had already been finalized. Regarding completion of new lines, he said that as against an average of 2.3 kms lines per day, close to 8 kms per day was accomplished during 2015- 16. As for the non-fare revenue of the Railways, he informed that for the first time a Non-fare Revenue Directorate had been set up and a plan for earning C17,500 crore non-fare revenue had been prepared. He added that it was going to be an important source of revenue for the Railways. Referring to decline in the freight earnings, he said that a number of initiatives had been taken to rationalize the freight. He added that with the operationalisation of dedicated freight corridor by 2020 and results shown by the freight rationalization policy, the freight earnings of Railways were likely to improve. He informed that a Business Plan had been prepared for 2016-17. He asserted that the Government was trying to do everything possible to make sure that Railways benefited from the new policies. As regards the reduction in energy cost of Railways, he said that the target was to save C41,000 crore of energy cost in next ten years by making use of solar and wind energy. Similarly, Railways was saving on use of water as well. Touching upon the issue of rail safety, he informed that accidents per billion on ten kilometres, which was an important index of safety globally, had come down from 0.23 in 2006-07 to 0.11 in 2014- 15 and further to 0.10 in 2015-16. He added that the target was zero per cent accident rate. Enumerating the measures taken to improve rail safety, he mentioned the changing of rolling stock for which C10,000 crore had been allocated in the current year budget, removal of unmanned rail crossings, creation of Rashtriya Rail Suraksha Kosh with a corpus of C1 lakh crore, use of ultrasonic flow detectors, vehicular traffic safety system, etc. As regards the passenger amenities, he made a mention of several trains launched for use by common man, development of an App to provide integrated services to the passengers, provision of Wi-Fi at 116 stations, announcement of new catering policy, increase in e-ticketing capacity from 2000 tickets per minute to 15,000 tickets per minute, removal of Sessional Review 195 service charge on online ticket booking through IRCTC to promote cashless travel, installation of escalators and lifts at stations, differently-abled- persons-friendly stations, launch of Swachh Rail – Swachh Bharat campaign, installation of bio-toilets in 18,000 coaches, launch of two green train corridors free from human waste discharge, etc. He added that remaining 52,000 coaches would be retrofitted with bio-toilets by 2019. As regards recruitment of personnel, he informed that 1,08,945 vacancies were filled up in the last two and a half years and assured that more recruitment would be done in the future. He claimed that Railways had conducted the largest online examination in the world in the current year to stop exam-related frauds. He said that Railways was working on a comprehensive human resource policy and on good industrial relations. As for the punctuality of trains, he said that punctuality rate of trains was 79.95 per cent. He opined that construction of double-decker and underground platforms could be a way out to improve the punctuality rate of the trains as the existing terminals and platforms were not adequate to handle the increased traffic. He admitted that he was not happy with the punctuality rate and felt that it needed to be improved. Regarding the merger of Rail Budget with the General Budget, he pointed out that there was no constitutional provision for presenting separate Rail Budget. Despite merger of budget, Railways retained its autonomy and would continue to maintain its distinct identity. Moreover, Railways would no longer be required to pay dividend to the Government. He clarified that all public service obligations of Railways would be borne by the Central Exchequer. He added that the Government was working on a strategy which would increase the revenue from traditional sources, bring non-fare revenue, reduce cost of energy and improve the productivity of employees. All that would result into a substantial improvement in the functioning of Railways and its productivity. He assured that the focus was on development of Railways with all the States on board.

B. LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS The Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017; The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017; The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017; and The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017 6 : On 5 April, 2017, Shri Arun Jaitley, the Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Defence moved that the four Bills to make provisions (i) for levy and collection of tax on intra- state supply of goods or services or both by the Central Government and the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto; (ii) for levy and

6 The Bills as passed by the Lok Sabha on 29 March 2017 were laid on the table of the House on 5 April 2017 196 The Journal of Parliamentary Information collection of tax on inter-state supply of goods or services or both by the Central Government and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto; (iii) for compensation to the States for the loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the goods and services tax in pursuance of the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016; and (iv) for levy and collection of tax on intra-State supply of goods or services or both by the Union Territories and the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, as passed by Lok Sabha, be taken into consideration. Discussion on the bills took place on 5 and 6 April, 2017. The Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017 makes a provision for levy and collection of tax on intra-State supply of goods or services or both by the Central Government and the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It seeks to confer power upon the Central Government for levying goods and services tax on the supply of goods or services or both which takes place within a State. It seeks to simplify and harmonise the indirect tax regime in the country. It is expected to reduce cost of production and inflation in the economy, thereby making the Indian trade and industry more competitive, domestically as well as internationally. Due to the seamless transfer of input tax credit from one stage to another in the chain of value addition, there is an in-built mechanism in the design of goods and services tax that would incentivise tax compliance by taxpayers. It seeks to broaden the tax base, which will result in better tax compliance due to a robust information technology infrastructure.7

The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017 makes a provision for levy and collection of tax on inter-State supply of goods or services or both by the Central Government and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It seeks to confer power upon the Central Government for levying goods and services tax on the supply of goods or services or both which takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. The bill seeks to remove the lacunas of the present central sales tax. Besides being vatable, the rate of tax for the integrated goods and services tax to be more or less equal to the sum total of the central goods and services tax and state goods and services tax or union territory goods and services tax to be levied on intra-State supplies. It is expected to reduce cost of production and inflation in the economy, thereby making the Indian trade and industry more competitive, domestically as well as internationally. It is also expected that introduction of the integrated goods and services tax will foster a common or seamless Indian market and contribute significantly to the growth of the economy.8

7 Extract from the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill. 8 Extract from the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill. Sessional Review 197

The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017 makes a provision for levy and collection of tax on intra-State supply of goods or services or both by the Union Territories. It seeks to simplify and harmonise the indirect tax regime in the country. It is expected to reduce the cost of production and inflation in the economy, thereby making the Indian trade and industry more competitive, domestically as well as internationally. It is also expected that introduction of goods and services tax will foster a common or seamless Indian market and contribute significantly to the growth of the economy. Due to the seamless transfer of input tax credit from one stage to another in the chain of value addition, there is an in- built mechanism in the design of goods and services tax that would incentivise tax compliance by taxpayers. It seeks to broaden the tax base which will result in better tax compliance due to a robust information technology infrastructure.9 The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017 seeks to provide for compensation to the States for the loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the goods and services tax for a period of five year in pursuance of the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 confers simultaneous powers upon the Parliament and the State Legislatures to make laws for levy of goods and services tax on the supplies of goods or services or both.10 A detailed discussion took place on various aspects and provisions of the four bills in which several Members11 participated.

Replying to the discussion, Shri Arun Jaitley, the Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Defence said that the broad approach almost of every Member of the House had been in support of the bills. He recalled that even the Constitution Amendment Bill paving the way for GST was passed unanimously. Tracing the long journey of the GST, he said that the idea of GST was originally mooted out in the budget of 2006 followed by the introduction of the Constitution Amendment Bill in 2011. He underlined that when an idea as radical as GST was, it would take time before people digested the full implications of that

9 Extract from the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill. 10 Extract from the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill. 11 Members who participated in the discussion: Sarvashri Anand Sharma, Bhupender Yadav, Naresh Agrawal, S.R. Balasubramoniyan, Derek O’Brien, C.P. Narayanan, A.U. Singh Deo, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, T.K.S. Elangovan, Digvijaya Singh, Ajay Sancheti, Jairam Ramesh, Mahesh Poddar, Surendra Singh Nagar, Satish Chandra Misra, Sharad Yadav, Praful Patel, Sitaram Yechury, D. Raja, Narayan Lal Panchariya, V. Vijayasai Reddy, Dr. Subhash Chandra, Kapil Sibal, Ramkumar Verma, Naresh Gujral, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Ramdas Athawale and Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu 198 The Journal of Parliamentary Information idea. Referring to the Constitutional scheme of taxation in the country, he said that as per the scheme both Centre and States were empowered to levy different kinds of taxes. Therefore, many States felt they were going to lose their jurisdiction to levy taxes under the GST regime and as such had an initial reluctance. The manufacturing States who had invested in the infrastructure for manufacturing felt that GST being a destination tax, the consuming States would benefit more and they would lose the revenue. Therefore, provisions to compensate the States which anticipated or feared the loss of revenue were brought in by a constitutional amendment. He made a mention of the contribution made by the Parliamentary Standing and Select Committees in working out consensus on contentious issues. He conceded that the GST bills were a collective property in which States, political parties and successive Central Governments had all contributed. He added that the credit went to everyone especially the State Governments for making it a reality. Referring to the powers of the Central and State Governments as enshrined in the Constitution of India, he said that GST created a new situation wherein both Centre and the States decided not to levy the indirect taxes earlier levied by them individually and instead gave birth to the concept of GST where both the Centre and States got simultaneous powers to levy GST. He added that it was the only tax which was going to be simultaneously levied by both of them. Besides, a provision was also made for a joint administrative machinery for taking the decisions vis-à-vis GST and implementing them. He said that there would be a GST Council comprising Finance Ministers of 29 States, Union Finance Minister, Union Minister of State for Finance and Finance Ministers of two Union territories with legislature. The Council would have powers to make recommendations and the plenary power would vest with the Parliament and State Legislatures. The decisions of the Council would become a federal arrangement between the Centre and the States and between the States themselves. As it was a federal arrangement, no one could unilaterally disturb the arrangement. He underlined that the GST Council was, effectively, India’s first federal institution. As regards, the business transacted by the Council, he informed that it had 14 meetings which had gone on for several hours and at times for several days. The approach was to arrive at a consensus on every issue. He said that the Council consciously avoided a vote because it was felt that federal issues could not just be resolved by voting. He added that a precedent was consciously sought to be created whereby the issues were resolved through a process of deliberative democracy. He said that the draft bills under consideration of the House had been prepared by the Council unanimously. He pointed out that in last ten years there were 30 sub-groups and Committees which looked into various issues; 51,000 Sessional Review 199 officers of the Central and State Governments along with 31,000 professionals from industry were trained; 175 meetings had taken place at the level of officers; and there was a Legal Committee comprising officials of Centre and predominantly of State Governments which drafted the bills. He explained that any person doing business in India had an interface with multiple taxes and multiple assessing authorities. After GST, he was going to have interface with only one authority. As regards the multiple rates of GST, he clarified that the present rate of taxation on an item would determine the rate of GST as it would be fitted against the nearest rate of GST. As for the various cesses, he said that a lot of cesses on indirect taxes would be removed. However, some of the cesses on luxury or sin goods would remain. Answering questions raised about GST Network (GSTN), he said that GSTN was going to match billions of vouchers and, therefore, the IT skills to do that had to be of globally the best standard. He said that it would be the biggest network in the country. He added that the network would have 49 per cent Government share so that it could hire the best talent pool that would match 30 billion vouchers in a month and maintain the data. However, the management structure of the network had a deep and pervasive Governmental control with IT firewalls built around it and provision for penal consequences if any information was made public.

The motions for consideration of the Bills and Clauses etc. were adopted. The Bills were returned to the Lok Sabha.

C. QUESTIONS During the Session, 11,235 notices of Questions (7,136 Starred and 4,099 Unstarred) were received. Out of these, 435 Questions were admitted as Starred and 4,629 Questions were admitted as Unstarred excluding 7 admitted Unstarred Questions which were cancelled. Out of 435 Starred Questions admitted, only 144 Starred Questions were answered orally on the floor of the House and replies to the remaining Starred Questions were laid on the Table of the House. The total number of notices of questions received in Hindi was 2135.

Daily average of Questions: All the lists of Starred Questions contained 15 Questions each. On an average 4.96 Questions were answered orally per sitting. The list of Unstarred Questions contained 156 questions on 2 February, 2017, 158 questions each on 22, 23 and 27 March, 2017 and 159 questions on 24 March, 2017. On rest of the days, list of Unstarred Questions contained 160 questions each. 200 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

D. OBITUARY REFERENCES During the Session, an obituary reference was made on the passing away of Shri K. S. Malle Gowda, an ex-Member. Members stood in silence for a short while as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. Sessional Review 201

STATE LEGISLATURES

ASSAM LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY* The Third Session of the Fourteenth Assam Legislative Assembly commenced on 30 January, 2017 and was adjourned sine die on 10 March, 2017. There were 19 sittings in all. Address by the Governor: On 30 January, 2017, the Governor Shri Banwarilal Purohit addressed the members of the State Legislative Assembly. The Motion of Thanks to the Governor for his address was moved in the House and following discussion, the motion was passed. Election of Speaker: On 30 January, 2017, Shri Hitendra Nath Goswami was elected as the Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly. Financial Business: On 30 January, 2017, the Supplementary Demands and Supplementary Appropriation for the year 2016-17 were introduced, considered and passed by the House. Legislative Business: During the Session twenty six bills were passed:- (i) The Assam Appropriation (No.I) Bill, 2017; (ii) The Assam Appropriation (No.III) Bill, 2017; (iii) The Assam Repealing (No.I) Bill, 2017; (iv) The Assam Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (v) The Assam Appropriation (No.II) Bill, 2017; (vi) The Assam Appropriation (No.IV) Bill, 2017; (vii) The Assam Appropriation (No.V) Bill, 2017; (viii) The Assam Repealing (No.II) Bill, 2017; (ix) The Assam Electricity Duty (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2017; (x) The Assam Agriculture Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xi) The Assam Taxation (Liquidation of Arrear Dues) (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xii) The Assam Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xiii) The Assam Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xiv) The Bodoland University (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xv) The Krishnaguru Adhyatmik Viswa Vidyalaya Bill, 2017; (xvi) The Cotton University Bill, 2017; (xvii) The Missing Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xviii) The Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xix) The Thengal Kashari Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xx) The Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxi) The Deori Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxii) The Tiwa Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxiii) The Assam Public Procurement Bill, 2017; (xxiv) The Assam Junior College (Provincialising) (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxv) The Assam State Higher Education Council Bill, 2017; (xxvi) The Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Reorganization of Education Institution) Bill, 2017.

* Material contributed by the Assam Legislative Assembly Secretariat 202 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

Obituary References: During the Session, obituary references were made on the passing away of leading personalities.

KERALA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY* The Fourth Session of the Fourteenth Kerala Legislative Assembly commenced on 23 February, 2017 and was adjourned sine die on 16 March, 2017. There were 15 sittings in all. Financial Business: On 3 March, 2016, Dr. T.M. Thomas Isaac, the Minister of Finance and Coir, presented the Budget for the Financial Year 2017-18 and Vote on Account before the House. Legislative Business: During the Session the following Nine Bills were introduced, considered and passed:- (i) The Kerala Finance Bill, 2017; (ii) The Kerala Motor Vehicles Taxation (Validation) Bill, 2016; (iii) The Kerala State Commission for Minorities (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (iv) The Kerala Appropriation Bill, 2017; (v) The Kerala Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2017; (vi) The Industrial Disputes (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2016; (vii) The Minimum Wages (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2016; (viii) The Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Worker’s Welfare Fund Bill, 2016; (ix) The Payment of Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2016 Obituary References: During the Session, obituary references were made on the passing away of Shri E Ahamed, Shri P. Vishwambaran, Shri Hameed Ali Shamnad and N.C.Sathyapalan former members and other respected personalities such as, Mr. Fidel Castro, Ms. J. Jayalalitha and Shri M. Balamuralikrishna.

MANIPUR LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY** The First Session of the Eleventh Manipur Legislative Assembly commenced on 20 March, 2017 and was adjourned sine die on 23 March, 2017. There were 4 sittings in all. Financial Business: During the session, Shri N. Biren Singh, the Chief Minister presented the Supplementary Demands for Grants, Budget Estimates, and Vote on Accounts for the year 2017, which were discussed and passed. Obituary References: During the Session, obituary references were made on the passing away of Smt. Lhingjaneng Gangte, former member

* Material contributed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly Secretariat ** Material contributed by the Manipur Legislative Assembly Secretariat Sessional Review 203 of the Manipur Territorial Assembly; Shri Wangkheimayun Kullabidhu, former member of Rajya Sabha; Shri Thokchom Kunjo Singh, Prof. Gangmumei Kamei, Shri Heigrujam Thoithoi Singh, Shri Haji Abdul Salam and Shri Yumnam Yaima Singh, former members of Manipur Legislative Assembly.

NAGALAND LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY* The Fifteenth Session of the Twelfth Nagaland Legislative Assembly commenced on 21 March, 2017 and was adjourned sine die on 30 March, 2017. There were 5 sittings in all. Address by the Governor: On 21 March, 2017, the Governor Shri P. B. Acharya, addressed the members of the State Legislative Assembly. Dr. Longrineken, member of the Assembly, moved the motion of Thanks. Shri Neiphrezo Keditsu seconded the Motion. Fourteen Members participated in the discussion and following the reply by the Chief Minister, Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu, the motion was adopted after the voting. Election of Speaker: On 21 March, 2017, Dr. Imtiwapang Aier was declared elected, unopposed and unanimously, as the Speaker of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly.

Legislative Business: During the Session the following Bills were introduced, considered and passed:- (i) The Nagaland Co-operative Societies Bill, 2017; (ii) The Nagaland Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2017; (iii) The Nagaland Nursing Council Bill, 2017; (iv) The Nagaland Appropriation (No.1) Bill, 2017 and (v) The Nagaland Appropriation (No.II) Bill, 2017.

Financial Business: Discussion and voting on Supplementary Demand for the year 2016-17 was put to vote without discussion and passed. The General discussion on the Budget for the year 2017-18 was initiated by Shri Hukavi Zhimomi and five members participated in the discussion following the reply by the Chief Minister, Dr. Shurhozelie Liezietsu. Discussion and voting on Demands for Grants for the year 2017-18 was put to vote without discussion and passed. Obituary References: During the Session, obituary references were made on the passing away of Ms. J. Jayalalitha, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu; Shri Mhonshan Murry, Shri K.V. Pusa, Tokheho Sema and Shri Wokshing Phom, former Members of Nagaland Legislative Assembly and Shri Hepong Phom, Ex-IBM.

* Material contributed by the Nagaland Legislative Assembly Secretariat 204 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

RAJASTHAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY* The Eighth Session of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly commenced on 23 February, 2017 and was adjourned sine die on 26 April, 2017. There were 25 sittings in all. Address by the Governor: On 23 February, 2017, the Governor, Shri Kalyan Singh, addressed the Members of the State Legislative Assembly. Thirty two Members participated in the discussion and following the reply on 2 March, 2017, the Motion was adopted. Financial Business: The Budget was presented in the House on 8 March, 2017. Sixty six Members participated in the discussion. The Finance Minister replied to the general discussion on the Budget. Eight days were fixed for discussion on demands for grants related to various departments. Legislative Business: During the Session the following thirty four Bills were introduced, considered and passed:- (i) The Rajasthan Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2017; (ii) The Nirwan University, Jaipur Bill, 2017; (iii) The Rajasthan Appropriation (No.1) Bill, 2017; (iv) The Rajasthan Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2017; (v) The Bhartiya Skill Development University, Jaipur Bill, 2017; (vi) The Rajasthan ILD Skills University, Jaipur Bill, 2017; (vii) The Rajasthan Finance Bill, 2017; (viii) The Rajasthan Homoeopathic Medicine (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (ix) The Rajasthan Rent Control (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (x) The Rajasthan State Commission for Backward Classes Bill, 2017; (xi) The Rajasthan Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xii) The Rajasthan Municipalities (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xiii) The Rajasthan Municipalities (Third Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xiv) The Jai Narain Vyas University (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xv) The University of Rajasthan (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xvi) The Mohan Lal Sukhadia University (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xvii) The Raj Rishi Bhartrihari Matsya University, Alwar (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xviii) The Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Bikaner (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xix) The Govind Guru Tribal University, Banswara (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xx) The University of Kota (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxi) The Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Shekhawati University, Sikar (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxii) The Vardhman Mahaveer Open University, Kota (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxiii) The Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxiv) The Maharaja Surajmal Brij University, Bharatpur (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxv) The Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication, Jaipur (Repeal) Bill, 2017; (xxvi) The Rajasthan Bhamashah (Direct Transfer of Public Welfare Benefits and Delivery of Services) Bill, 2017; (xxvii) The Rajasthan Municipalities

* Material contributed by the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Secretariat Sessional Review 205

(Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxviii) The University of Technology, Jaipur Bill, 2017; (xxix) The Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017; (xxx) The Rajasthan Municipalities (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxxi) The Bikaner Technical University Bill, 2017; (xxxii) The Rajasthan Minister’s Salaries (Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxxiii) The Rajasthan Minister’s Salaries (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017; (xxxiv) The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (Officers and Members Emoluments and Pension) (Amendment) Bill, 2017.

WEST BENGAL LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY*

I The Fourth Session of the Sixteenth West Bengal Legislative Assembly commenced on 3 February, 2017 and was adjourned sine die on 20 February, 2017. There were 12 sittings in all. Obituary References: During the Session, obituary references were made on the passing away of Dr. Akhlaqur Rehman Kidwai, former Governor of West Bengal; Shri Nisith Adhikary and Shri Saral Deb, former Ministers of Government of West Bengal; Shri Suniti Chattaraj, former Deputy Minister of Government of West Bengal; Shri Asok Ghosh, former Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly; Shri Monoranjan Sarkar, former Principal Secretary of West Bengal Legislative Assembly and Shri Om Prakash Puri, renowned film actor.

II The Fifth Session of the Sixteenth West Bengal Legislative Assembly commenced on 1 March, 2017 and was adjourned sine die on 10 March, 2017. There were 8 sittings in all. Obituary References: During the Session, obituary references were made on the passing away of Shri Syed Nawab Jani Meerza, Shri Dwijapada Mondal and Shri Subhendu Chowdhury, former Members of West Bengal Legislative Assembly; Shri Altamas Kabir, former Chief Justice of India; Smt. Banasree Sengupta, renowned Bengali singer; and Shri Shibaji Banerjee, former Indian Football Player; Shri Rabi Ray, former Speaker of Lok Sabha; Shri Joachim Baxla, former Member of Parliament and Shri Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya, eminent Bengali folk singer. ************

* Material contributed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Secretariat 206 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

9

RECENT LITERATURE OF PARLIAMENTARY INTEREST

I. BOOKS Adhar, Neelima Dalmia, The Secret Diary of Kasturba (New Delhi: Tranquebar Press), 2016

Akshuthanandh, M., ed., Human Rights in Contemporary India: Issues and Challanges (New Delhi: Research India Press), 2016

Ali, Irfan, Indian Constitutional Acts: East India Company to Independence (New Delhi: Centrum Press), 2016

Anand Kumar, Multi Party Democracy in the Maldives and the Emerging Security Environment in the Indian Ocean Region (New Delhi: Pentagon Press), 2016

Assi, Abbas, Democracy in Lebanon: Political Parties and the Struggle for Power since Syrian Withdrawal (London: I. B. Tauris), 2016

Bajpai, Rochana, Debating Difference: Group Rights and Liberal Democracy in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press), 2016

Bhargaw, Pushpa, The Builder of Modern India: Sardar Patel (New Delhi: Kumud Publications), 2016

Brennan, Jason, Against Democracy (Princeton: Princeton University Press), 2016

Carranza, Mario E., India-Pakistan Nuclear Diplomacy: Constructivism and the Prospects for Nuclear Arms Control and Disarmament in South Asia (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield), 2016

Catlin, George, In the Path of Mahatma Gandhi (Gurgaon: Rudransh Prakashan), 2016

Chauhan, Ajay, Strategic Triangular Relationship between Bhutan, India and China (New Delhi: Surendra Publications), 2016

Clegg, Nick, Politics between Extremes (London: The Bodley Head), 2016 Recent Literature of Parliamentary Interest 207

Craig, Paul, UK, EU and Global Administrative Law: Foundations and Challenges (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 2015

Das, Rup Narayan, The US Factor in Sino Indian Relations: India’s Fine Balancing (New Delhi: Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses), 2016

Dasgupta, Abhijit, Displacement and Exile: the State Refugee Relations in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press), 2016

Dickson, Bruce J., The Dictator’s Dilemma: The Chinese Communist Party’s Strategy for Survival (New York: Oxford University Press), 2016

Dorman, Sara Rich, Understanding Zimbabwe: From Liberation to Authoritarianism (London: Hurst and Company), 2016

Gajrani, Shiv, ed., Acharya Narendra Dev (New Delhi: Commonwealth Publishers), 2015

Gajrani, Shiv, ed., Babu Jagjivan Ram (New Delhi: Commonwealth Publishers), 2015

Gajrani, Shiv, ed., Gopal Krishna Gokhale (New Delhi: Commonwealth Publishers), 2015

Gajrani, Shiv, ed., J.B. Kriplani (New Delhi: Commonwealth Publishers), 2015

Ganguli, Anirban, ed., The Modi Doctrine: New Paradigms in India’s Foreign Policy (New Delhi: Wisdom Tree), 2016

Gupta, P.K., The Political Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi (New Delhi: Swastik Publications), 2017

Harding, Andrew, Central-local Relations in Asian Constitutional Systems (Oxford: Hart Publishing), 2015

Khan, Nasir Raza, ed., India and Central Asia: Geopolitics, Economy and Culture (New Delhi: Primus Books), 2016

Mahler, Gregory S., Politics and Government in Israel: The Maturation of a Modern State (3rd Edition) (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield), 2016

Mohanty, Arun, ed., Eurasian States: Socio-economic and Political Processes (New Delhi: KW Publishers), 2017

Pandey, Neelam, Sardar Patel on Freedom Movements in India (New Delhi: Centrum Press), 2017 208 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

Parihar, A.K.S., Mahatma Gandhi and Comparative Religion (New Delhi: Swastik Publications), 2017

Parsa, Misagh, Democracy in Iran: Why it Failed and How it might Succeed (Cambridge: Harvard University Press), 2016

Patnaik, Ajay, Central Asia: Geopolitics, Security and Stability (Oxon: Routledge), 2016

Pillsbury, Michael, The Hundred Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower (New York: Henry Holt), 2015

Purohit, S.K., Foreign Policy and National Security (New Delhi: Swastik Publications), 2017

Seib, Philip, The Future of Diplomacy (Cambridge: Polity Press), 2016

Singh, Hemlata, Challenges of Contemporary India: Polity, Justice, Education, Empowerment and Judiciary (Delhi: Kalpaz Publication), 2016

Singh, Rajkumar, Tireless Border Diplomacy of India with China and Pakistan (New Delhi: Gyan Publishing), 2016

Singh, Shanti Swaroop, Parliamentary Privilege of Freedom of Speech (New Delhi: Classical Publishing), 2016

Stuenkel, Oliver, Post-Western World: How Emerging Powers are Remaking Global Order (Cambridge: Polity Press), 2016

Thakur, Sanyogita, ed., Freedom of Speech and Expression: Issues and Challenges (New Delhi: Bharti Publications), 2016

Tripathi, Sujitkumar Amritlal, Sarojini Naidu: A Pioneer of Indian Culture (New Delhi: Swastik Publishers), 2016

Triranjan Raj, Changing Perspective of Multiculturalism and Good Governance: Understanding Nationalism and Communitarianism (New Delhi: Research India Press), 2016

Tushnet, Mark, ed., Unstable Constitutionalism: Law and Politics in South Asia (New York: Cambridge University Press), 2015

II. ARTICLES Alok Prasanna Kumar, “Sectarian Appeals in Elections: Interpreting Representation of the People Act Well”, Economic and Political Weakly (Mumbai), Vol. 52, No. 2, 14 January, 2017, pp. 14-16 Recent Literature of Parliamentary Interest 209

Bilotta, Nicola, “Trump Presidency and Future of Monroe Doctrine”, Third Concept (New Delhi), Vol. 31, No. 361, March, 2017, pp. 26-29 Celly, Ashok, “Democracy in Decline”, Mainstream (New Delhi), Vol. 45, No. 9, 18 February, 2017, pp. 3-4

Chengappa, Raj, “Now for 2022”, India Today (New Delhi), Vol. 42, No. 13, 27 March, 2017, pp. 40-45 Cherian, John, “Reluctant to Talk”, Frontline (Chennai), Vol. 33, No. 26, 6 January, 2017, pp. 64-66

Cherian, John, “State Slaughter”, Frontline (Chennai), Vol. 33, No. 26, 6 January, 2017, pp. 61-63 Datta, Damayanti, “Swachh a Long Journey”, India Today (New Delhi), Vol. 42, No. 6, 6 February, 2017, pp. 50-51

Dogra, Bharat, “Protecting Panchayati Raj in Difficult Times”, Mainstream (New Delhi), Vol. 55, No. 6, 28 January, 2017, pp. 18-19 Gurminder Kaur and Bineet Kaur, “India-Afghanistan: An Analysis of Strategic and Security Concerns”, Mainstream (New Delhi), Vol. 55, No. 9, 18 February, 2017, pp.25-33

Joshi, Rakesh, “EC Acts”, Business India (Mumbai), No. 1010, 1 January, 2017, pp. 25 Joshi, Rakesh, “Known Unknowns: Though Challenging, Trump’s Prudency could be Fruitful for India”, Business India (Mumbai), No. 1013, 12 February, 2017, pp. 38-42

Joshi, Yashwardhan, “Simultaneous Elections Pose Many Challanges”, Indian Observer (New Delhi), Vol. 57, No. 3; 4, 28 February, 2017, pp. 21 Krishnan, Ananth, “Trump’s China Wall”, India Today (New Delhi), Vol. 42, No. 9, 27 February, pp. 72-74 Krishnan, Ananth, “Uneasy Dance with the Dragon”, India Today (New Delhi), Vol. 42, No. 11, 13 March, 2017, pp. 52-53 Manda Green, “Parliamentary Women’s Delegation in France: Making Women’s Voices Heard?”, Parliamentary Affairs (Oxford), Vol. 69, No. 4, October, 2016, pp. 860-75 Miller, Michael K., “Democracy by Example? Why Democracy Spreads When the World’s Democracies Prosper”, Comparative Politics (New York), Vol. 49, No. 1, October, 2016, pp. 83-104 210 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

Misra, Satish, “Neighbourhood Policy Fails to Deliver Results for India”, Indian Observer (New Delhi), Vol. 57, No. 6, 31 March, 2017, pp. 9-10

Nayar, Kuldip, “Peace on Indo-Pak Border”, Mainstream (New Delhi), Vol. 55, No. 4, March, 2017, pp.11-12

Nehru, Jawaharlal, “Greatest Treasure”, Mainstream (New Delhi), Vol. 55, No. 6, 28 January, 2017, pp. 7; 9

Nien-Chung Chang Liao, “Sources of China’s Assertiveness: The System, Domestic Politics or Leadership Preferences?”, International Affairs (Oxford), Vol. 92, No. 4, July, 2016, pp. 817-33

Palshikar, Suhas, “Half of Achhe?”, Outlook (New Delhi), Vol. 57, No. 2, 9 January, 2017, pp. 29-31

Pandey, Sandeep, “Meaning of being Gandhi”, Mainstream (New Delhi), Vol. 55, No. 8, 11 February, 2017, pp. 26-27

Roy, Saikat, “Democratic Decentralisation in the Context of India’s Party Structure”, Man and Development (Chandigarh), Vol. 38, No. 4, December, 2016, pp. 75-90

Sachar, Rajindar, “Simultaneous Parliament and State Assembly Polls Strike at the Root of Federalism”, Mainstream (New Delhi), Vol. 55, No. 6, 28 January, 2017, pp. 21-22

Sharma, Pranay, “Xi Stoops to Conquer”, Outlook (New Delhi), Vol. 57, No. 9, 27 February, 2017, pp. 22-23

Singh, Balmiki Prasad, “Freebies and Good Governance”, Indian Journal of Public Administration (New Delhi), Vol. 62, No. 4, October-December, 2016, pp. 735-50

Singh, Bhartendu Kumar, “China-India Strategic Dialogue: Is there a Future?“, Mainstream (New Delhi), Vol. 55, No. 13, 18 March, 2017, pp. 29-30

Suryanarayana, P. S., “Trump ‘Factor’ in India-China Equations”, Border Affairs (New Delhi), Vol. 18, No. 2, January-March, 2017, pp. 11-15

Tulip Siddiq, “Political Representation and Political Activism in the Bangladeshi Diaspora”, Parliamentarians (London), Vol. 97, No. 4, 2016, pp.304-7

Unnithan, Sandeep, “Future Imperfect”, India Today (New Delhi), Vol. 42, No. 6, 6 February, 2017, pp. 48-49 Recent Literature of Parliamentary Interest 211

Venkatesan, V., “Turbulent Phase”, Frontline (Chennai), Vol. 34, No. 1, 20 January, 2017, pp. 17-18 Yongjin Zhang, “China and Liberal Hierarchies in Global International Society: Power and Negotiation for Normative Change”, International Affairs (Oxford), Vol. 92, No. 4, July, 2016, pp. 795-816

Zhao Huasheng, “Afghanistan and China’s New Neighbourhood Diplomacy”, International Affairs (Oxford), Vol. 92, No. 4, July, 2016, pp. 891-908 Zhou Fangyin, “Between Assertiveness and Self-Restraint: Undertaking China’s South China Sea Policy” International Affairs (Oxford), Vol. 92, No. 4, July, 2016, pp. 869-90 ************* 212 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

APPENDIX I STATEMENT SHOWING THE WORK TRANSACTED DURING THE ELEVENTH SESSION OF THE SIXTEENTH LOK SABHA

1. PERIOD OF THE SESSION 31.01.2017 to 09.02.2017 & 09.03.2017 to 12.04.2017 2. NUMBER OF SITTINGS HELD 29 3. TOTAL NUMBER OF SITTING HOURS 178 Hours 4. TIME LOST DUE TO INTERRUPTIONS/FORCED 8 Hours and ADJOURNMENTS 12 Minutes 5. HOUSE SITTING LATE TO COMPLETE LISTED BUSINESS 27 Hours and 58 Minutes 6. GOVERNMENT BILLS (i) Pending at the commencement of the Session 20 (ii) Introduced 24 (iii) Laid on the Table as passed by the Rajya Sabha 01 (iv) Returned by the Rajya Sabha with any amendment/Recommendation 03 and laid on the Table (v) Discussed 23 (vi) Passed 23 (vii) Withdrawn 01 (viii) Negatived Nil (ix) Part-discussed Nil (x) Returned by the Rajya Sabha without any Recommendation 08 (xi) Pending at the end of the Session 21 7. PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS (i) Pending at the commencement of the Session 541 (ii) Introduced 158 (iii) Discussed 01 (iv) Passed Nil (v) Withdrawn Nil (vi) Negatived Nil (vii) Part-discussed 02* (viii) Pending at the end of the Session 699 8. NUMBER OF DISCUSSIONS HELD UNDER RULE 184 (i) Notice received 01 (ii) Admitted Nil (iii) Discussed Nil 9. NUMBER OF MATTERS RAISED UNDER RULE 377 493

* Including ‘The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014’, as Passed by Rajya Sabha. Appendices 213

10. NUMBER OF MATTERS RAISED ON URGENT PUBLIC 541 IMPORTANCE DURING ZERO HOUR 11. NUMBER OF DISCUSSIONS HELD UNDER RULE 193 (i) Notice received 49 (ii) Admitted 01 (iii) Discussion held 01 (iv) Part-discussed 01 12. NUMBER OF STATEMENTS MADE UNDER RULE 197 Nil 13. STATEMENTS MADE BY MINISTERS 51 14. ADJOURNMENT MOTION (i) Notice received 221 (ii) Brought before the House Nil (iii) Admitted Nil 15. NUMBER OF MATTERS RAISED BY WAY OF CALLING ATTENTION Nil 16. GOVERNMENT RESOLUTIONS (i) Notice received 02 (ii) Admitted 02 (iii) Moved Nil (iv) Adopted Nil (v) Negatived Nil (vi) Part-discussed Nil 17. PRIVATE MEMBERS’ RESOLUTIONS (i) Notice received 09 (ii) Admitted 09 (iii) Moved/Discussed Nil (iv) Adopted Nil (v) Negatived Nil (vi) Part-discussed 01 18. GOVERNMENT MOTIONS (i) Notices received Nil (ii) Admitted Nil (iii) Moved & Discussed Nil (iv) Adopted Nil (v) Negatived Nil (vi) Withdrawn Nil (vii) Part-discussed Nil 19. PRIVILEGES MOTIONS (i) Notice received 16 (ii) Brought before the House 04 (iii) Consent withheld by Speaker 01 (iv) Observation made by Speaker 03 20. TOTAL NUMBER OF VISITOR PASSES ISSUED DURING 25672 THE SESSION 214 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

21. TOTAL NUMBER OF VISITORS TO THE PARLIAMENT 16314 + 119 MUSEUM DURING THE SESSION (School/Institutions) 22. TOTAL NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ADMITTED (i) Starred 560 (ii) Un-starred 6440 (iii) Short Notice Questions Nil (iv) Half-an-Hour discussions Nil 23. WORKING OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES

Sl. Name of the Committee No. of sittings No. of No. held during the Reports period presented

12 3 4

i) Business Advisory Committee 5 5 ii) Committee on Absence of Members from - 1 the Sittings of the House iii) Committee on Empowerment of women 1 - iv) Committee on Estimates 8 1 v) Committee on Ethics - - vi) Committee on Government Assurances 3 4 vii) Committee on Member of Parliament Local 1 1 Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) viii) Committee on Papers Laid on the Table 2 2 ix) Committee on Petitions 2 9 x) Committee on Private Members’ Bills and 4 4 Resolutions xi) Committee of Privileges 1 - xii) Committee on Public Accounts 14 5 xiii) Committee on Public Undertakings 2 2 xiv) Committee on Subordinate Legislation 4 1 xv) Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled 4 - Castes and Scheduled Tribes xvi) General Purposes Committee - - xvii) House Committee - - (a) Accommodation Sub-Committee (b) Sub-Committee on Amenities xviii) Library Committee - - xix) Railway Convention Committee 3 4 xx) Rules Committee - -

JOINT/SELECT COMMITTEE i) Joint Committee on Offices of Profit 2 4 ii) Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances - - of Members of Parliament Appendices 215

DEPARTMENTALLY RELATED STANDING COMMITTEES i) Committee on Agriculture 7 4 ii) Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers 7 3 iii) Committee on Coal & Steel 7 5 iv) Committee on Defence 4 8 v) Committee on Energy 5 2 vi) Committee on External Affairs 7 2 vii) Committee on Finance 5 5 viii) Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs 5 4 and Public Distribution ix) Committee on Information Technology 8 4 x) Committee on Labour 6 4 xi) Committee on Petroleum & Natural Gas 6 2 xii) Committee on Railways 4 1 xiii) Committee on Rural Development 4 5 xiv) Committee on Social Justice & Empowerment 5 4 xv) Committee on Urban Development 4 4 xvi) Committee on Water Resources 3 4 216 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

APPENDIX II STATEMENT SHOWING THE WORK TRANSACTED DURING THE TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY SECOND SESSION OF THE RAJYA SABHA

WORKING OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES

Name of Committee No. of Meetings No. of Reports held between presented during 1st January and 242nd Session of 31st March 2017 the Rajya Sabha

STANDING COMMITTEES (i) Business Advisory Committee 05 NIL (ii) Committee of Privileges NIL NIL (iii) Committee on Ethics NIL NIL (iv) Committee on Government Assurances 01 NIL (v) Committee on Member of Parliament NIL NIL Local Area Development Scheme (vi) Committee on Papers Laid on the Table 01 01 (vii) Committee on Petitions 03 NIL (viii) Committee on Provision of Computer NIL NIL Equipment to Members of Rajya Sabha (ix) Committee on Rules NIL NIL (x) Committee on Subordinate Legislation 01 04 (xi) General Purposes Committee NIL NIL (xii) House Committee NIL NIL

DEPARTMENT RELATED STANDING COMMITTEES (i) Commerce 03 02 (ii) Health and Family Welfare 04 03 (iii) Home Affairs 06 04 (iv) Human Resource Development 04 06 (v) Industry 05 03 (vi) Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice 07 04 (vii) Science and Technology, Environment 09 07 and Forests (viii) Transport, Tourism and Culture 06 06 Appendices 217 (348) 254(33) Starred Unstarred Short Notice (admitted)] (admitted)] (admitted)] 9(9) - 4245(3107) (passed)] (passed)] [Received [Received [Received [Introduced [Introduced Questions Questions Questions APPENDIX III 7+10 19(17) - 195(195) 2214(2214) ------15.3.2017 to 28.3.2017 15.3.2017 to 28.3.2017 ** 1 2 345678 UNION TERRITORIES DURING THE PERIOD FROM 1 JANUARY TO 31 MARCH 2017 Information not received from the State/Union Territory Legislature. STATEMENT SHOWING THE ACTIVITIES OF LEGISLATURES STATES AND Legislatures Duration Sittings Govt. BillsBills Private ** STATES Andhra Pradesh L.A Karnataka L.C. 6.2.2017 to 14.2.2017 & 7+10 18(17) - 1513(195) 411(1729) - Bihar L.C.Chhattisgarh L.A.Goa L.A.**Gujarat L.A.Haryana L.A.Himachal Pradesh L.A.Jammu & Kashmir L.A.Jammu & Kashmir L.C.** 23.2.2017 to 31.3.2017 1.3.2017 to 31.3.2017 27.2.2017-Jharkhand L.A. 2.1.2017 to 1.2.2017Karnataka L.A. 20.2.2017 to 31.3.2017 27.2.2017 to 10.3.2017 23 17 21 30 - 12 21 - 17.1.2017 to 2.2.2017 (9) 6.2.2017 to 14.2.2017 & 5 24(24) 4(4) 18(18) 11 7(7) - - 8(8) ------962(941) 7317(5263) - - 781(422) 522(377) 508(508) - 1643(1037) 1977(1044) 305(179) 1502(988) - 448(448) 98(62) 487(771) 3 - - - - 421(389) - (127) - - - 575(146) - - - - Andhra Pradesh L.C.**Arunachal Pradesh L.A.Assam L.A.Bihar L.A. 6.3.2017 to 15.3.2017 - 7 30.1.2017 to 10.3.2017 23.2.2017 to 31.3.2017 7(6) 19 23 - 26 - - 18(17) - 20(13) - 887(882) 532(532) 10(4) - 101(74) - - 218 The Journal of Parliamentary Information ------1.3.2017 to 10.3.2017 6.3.2017 to 10.3.2017 14.3.2017 to 31.3.2017 16.3.2017 to 24.3.2017 18.2.2017 to & ** * 12345678 Information not received from the State/Union Territory Legislature Information received from the State/Union Territory Legislature contained Nil Report. ** * Kerala L.A.Madhya Pradesh L.A.Maharashtra L.A.Maharashtra L.C. 21.2.2017 to 24.3.2017L.A.Manipur Meghalaya L.A.Mizoram L.A. 23.2.2017 to 16.3.2017 18 6.3.2017 to 7.4.2017 6.3.2017 to 7.4.2017 15 10(10) 20.3.2017 to 23.3.2017 20 3.3.2017 to 24.3.2017 20 4 9(8) 15 28(30) (22) - 9(9) 2(2) 4 4057(3711) - 4 3877(3665) 10551(722) - - 4097(390) 4126(1205) - 4915(4205) 54(30) 353(290) 28(27) - 7(1) 5(1) 23(21) 2 - - - Punjab L.A.Punjab L.ARajasthan Sikkim L.A. 24.3.2017 to 29.3.2017 23.2.2017 to 26.4.2017 25 3 34(34) 3(3) - - 3674(3651) 4696(4678) - - - - Nagaland L.A.Nagaland Odisha L.A. 21.3.2017 to 30.3.2017Tamil Nadu L.A. 22.2.2017 to 5.3.2017 & 5 24 23.1.2017 to 1.2.2017, 5(4) 6+1+6 3(2) 19(19) - - - 1681(1447) 5(5) 2541(3021) (549) 5(5) 9 (1791) - - Telangana L.A.Telangana L.C.Telangana Tripura L.A.**Uttarakhand L.A.Uttar Pradesh L.A.Uttar Pradesh L.C.* 10.3.2017 to 27.3.2017West Bengal L.A. 10.3.2017 to 27.3.2017 24.3.2017 to 28.3.2017 14UNION TERRITORIES 9L.A.Delhi 3.2.2017 to 20.2.2017 & 3 5(5) -Puducherry L.A.** - 12+8 - 5(5) 8(5) 21(21) - 7.1.2017 to 8.1.2017 & - - - - 2+5 - - - 485(219) 299(182) 2(2) - - 774(391) - (22) (44) 11(11) - 10(6) - 15(15) (46) - - 3(1) - - - 40 (7) - 7 - - 81 7 - - - - 2 - - - - Appendices 219 (g) (k) (b) (c) (f) (i) (j)

(d) (e)

Other Committees Other (a) (h) Joint/Select Committee Joint/Select

- 80(2)

Rules Committee Rules

Committee Public Accounts Public

13(18) 1(1) 2 -18(2)7(20) - - - - 3(3) - 70(4) 28(19) 4(6) - - 93(12)

Library Committee Library

Committee

House/Accommodation

Committee General Purposes General

- 1 - 3(2) - - 7(7)

Estimates Committee on Committee

9 - 7 1 5(3) 1 - 41(4)

SCs and STs and SCs

the Welfare of Welfare the Committee on Committee

8(2)5 18(1) - - 1713(1) 5 14(2) 7 - 53 1 6 - -5 - - 8(2) - - - - 6 - 52(2) 1 6 - - 85(5) Legislation

Subordinate Committee on Committee

1(3) -3(2) 2(1) - - - 7(5) - - - -

Public Undertakings Public

Committee on Committee

Privileges Committee of Committee

------4(5) ------3(8) -- 3(2) -- 1 () 1------1- - -(4)-

APPENDIX III (Contd.) Bills and Resolutions and Bills

Private Members’ Private Committee on Committee

2(2) 6(3) 7 8(1) 7(1)

on Petitions on

Committee

Assurances

Government

Committee on Committee

Committee Business Advisory Business ------2 6 8 1(1) 7 - - - - - 7 ------** PRESENTED DURING THE PERIOD FROM 1 JANUARY TO 31 MARCH 2017 COMMITTEES AT WORK/NUMBER OF SITTINGS HELD AND NUMBER REPORTS Information not received from the State/Union Territory Legislature. State/Union TerritoryAndhra Pradesh L.A. 9Bihar L.A. 10Bihar L.C.Chhattisgarh L.A. 11Goa L.A.** 12Gujarat L.A.Haryana L.A. 13Himachal Pradesh L.A.Jammu & Kashmir L.A. 14 1(1) 2(1)Jammu & Kashmir L.C.** 3 15 1(1)Jharkhand L.A. 1(1) 7(1)Karnataka L.A. - 5 - 10 16 (1)Karnataka L.C. 3(3) 1(1)Kerala L.A. 7 3(3) 5 - 2 - 17 22(1)** 1 15(1) - - 7(2) 18 6 - - - 1 - 2 19 10(4) 4 - 7 5(5) 3 10(2) - 20 6 7(3) 11(1) 3 21 14(1) 1(1) 9(9) 4(1) 5 - 4 5 22 - 5 1 23 24 - 3(1) - 3 5 7(18) 4 6(4) - - - 5 - - 5 Andhra Pradesh L.C.** Arunachal Pradesh L.A.Assam L.A. 1(1) - - 3 - - 1 - 1 1 - - - 1 - - 1(6) - - 3 220 The Journal of Parliamentary Information (t) (l) (o) (p) (m) (n) (q) (u) (s) (r) e-7, Women ources Committee- 1(1) - 274(50) 1 4(76) - - 14(12) 2(1) ------3(1) (1+2)(1) 9(1) - - 19+17 24(5) 22(2) - - 11 - 4 15(1) 13(36) -- - 8 58(16) - 12 9 10(1) (1+2)(1) 9(1) - - 1 24(5) - - 15(1) 3(1) 2 3(1) ------2(1) 1 1(2) 2(1) ------* ** 8, Nivedan Committee-8(1), Minority Welfare Committee-7, Question & Calling Attention Tourism Development Committe and Child Welfare Committee-7, Zero Hour Zila Parishad & Panchayati Raj Committee-7 Information not received from the State/Union Territory Legislature. Information received from the State/Union Territory Legislature contained Nil Report. (c) Agricultural Industries Development Committee-7, Bihar Heritage Committee-8(1), Ethics Internal Res (a) Ethics-1, Local Fund-1, Employment Review-1 (b) Question & Reference Committee-1, Committee relating to the Exam of paper laid on table-2(3) State/Union TerritoryMadhya Pradesh L.A.Maharashtra L.A.Maharashtra L.C. 9Manipur L.A. 3(3)Meghalaya L.A. 10 5(9)Mizoram L.A. 5(10) 11 2 3(3) 2 - 12Punjab L.A. 1Rajasthan L.A. - 13 - 1(1)Sikkim L.A. 3(22) 3Tamil Nadu L.A. - 14 3Telangana L.A. - 15 3(3) Telangana L.C. -Tripura L.A.** 3 16 -Uttarakhand L.A. 7(7) 1(1) - - 10(1) - 2 17Uttar Pradesh L.C. - 11(2) - - 1(1)West Bengal L.A. - 1(2) 18 1 1(1) - - - 2(1) UNION TERRITORIES (4) - - 19 - - 1Delhi L.A. - - - - - 20Puducherry L.A.** 11(19) - 8(1) - - 8(8) - 21** - 2 - - - 9* - - - 1 22 - 1 - - 3 9 - - 23 - - - - - 1 - - - 24 ------2 9(1) - 1 - - 9(2) ------10 ------1 - - - 2(1) - - - - - 4 ------1(1) ------3 1 - - (2) ------12 - - - Nagaland L.A.Odisha L.A. 1 5(5) - -Uttar Pradesh L.A. ------1 ------1 - 1 - - (8) ------17(65) - - - - 4 Appendices 221 hment-2 Examine elopment Committee ttee on the s-2 s-2 Institutions- e-X-2(31) n the Welfare on the Table- nt Committee- mplementation mittee on Local mittee-1(2) and aj-7, Committee ttee on Education Raj-7, Committee -8(1), Government ibrary Development ittee-V-(3), Standing iculture Development ero Hour Committee- Committee - 8(1), Nivedan, Zero Hour & Private Members Resolution 9, Ethics MLA Fund Monitoring Committee- 10 , L Paper Laid on the Table Committee-1 16(1), Committee on Public Health, Irrigation and PWD (B&R)-9(1), Subject Food & Supplies-13(1), Commi Assurance & House/Public Undertaking Committee - 8, Environment Pollution Control 7, Woman Welfare Children Dev Youth Culture Sports & Tourism Committee - 9(1), Zila Parishad Panchayati Raj 4 and Question Call Attention I on Welfare of Minorities-9, Committee Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institution-14(3) Environment-14(1) 6, Ethics Committee-6, Minorities Welfare Committee-7, Human Rights Committee-6. and Tech. Edu, Voc. Med. Edu. & Health Services -15(1) 5(4), General Development Committee-5(2) and Rural Planning Committee-5(4) of Untabled Question Committee - 11 on Welfare of Other Backward Classes-1, Committee Minority Welfare-1 and Inspection Private Charity Hospital Committee-VI- 2(3), Standing Committee-VII-(7), Committee-VIII-2(4), Committee-IX- 2(2) and Committe 7, Committee on Backward Classes and Minorities-7(2), Local Bodies Panchayat Raj-8, House Formed to Welfare of Backward Class Communities-6, Committee on the Women, Children & Physically Handicapped-6(1), o Fund Accounts-8(3), Committee on the Welfare of Non-Resident Keralites-5 and Subject Committee-40(6) Committee- 5, Ethics Committee-1 and Local bodies Panchayati Raj Accounts Committee-3 on Welfare of Other Backward Classes-1, Committee Minority Welfare-1 and Inspection Private Charity Hospital the Functions of Clubs in State and to Suggest Measures Government-3(1), House Committee Regarding Tank Enchroac of Fishermen and Allied Workers-4, Committee on the Welfare Youth Affairs-5, Official Language-5, Com (i) Privileges Committee -1, Government Assurance & House - 10(2), Internal resources Revenue Central Aid (j) Committee on Welfare of Women and Children-9(1), Sub Children-5, Papers Laid (l) Question & Reference Committees-3(11), Committee on welfare Woman/Children-1, Paper Laid the Table-1(1), Agr (f) Committee on Social Justice. & Empowerment, Woman and Child Dev., SC/ST/OBC-17, Local Bodies Panchayati Raj (r) Committee Relating to Examination of Audit Reports the Local Bodies State-4 (k) Committee on the Welfare of Senior Citizens-5, Environment-7(2), Papers Laid Table-2, Commi (o) Committee on Welfare of Women & Child-7(1), Question Reference Committee-7(11), Backward Class-7, (p) BC Committee-3(1) (q) Standing Committee-I-4(4), Committee-II-3(3), Committee-III-(4), Committee-IV-2(4), Comm (e) Panchayati Raj Committee-4(4), Welfare of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Committee-1(1), Absence Members Com (g) Welfare Committee-9(4), e-Governance-cum-General Purpose Committees-1, Public Administration Committee-3(5), Human Developme (h) Ethics Committee-1 and Environment Committee-4 (n) Committee on Welfare of Vimukta Jatis & Nomadic Tribes (VJNT)-1(1), Employment Guarantee Scheme-3, Panchayati R (d) Rajbhasha-6, Paper laid on the Table-6, Nivedan Committee-5, Committee Zila Parishad-5, Question & Call Attention-5(2), Z (m) Committee on Welfare of Vimukta Jatis & Nomadic Tribes (VJNT)-1(1), Employment Guarantee Scheme-3(1), Panchayti 222 The Journal of Parliamentary Information & Non- ildren-9, n Women mmittee on sheries and laints of UP Information g Committee fairs & Urban on Backward tee on Irrigation nd Development ee on Micro and & Rehabilitation- Fire & Emergency ousing Board, Jila stering the Games Panchayats & Municipal Corporations-3 and Committee on Enquiry of Provincial Electricity Arrangement-4 Legislature-2, Parliamentary & Social Welfare Committee-1, Committee on Control of Irregularities in Development Authorities, H Committee on Reforms and Functioning of the System-8, Standing Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing Fi on School Education-10(2), Standing Committee Environment, Forests and Tourism-8(3), Finance, Excise a Food Processing Industries & Horticulture- 8(4), Standing committee on Large and Enterprises-10(1), Committ Small Scale Enterprises & Textiles and Animal Resources Development-8(1), Standing Committee on Higher Education-10(2), Standin & Planning-11(4), Standing Committee on Food Supplies-9(1), Health and Family Welfare-8(1), Co Home, Personnel & Administrative Reforms, Correctional Administration, Law and Judicial-9(4), Standing Committee on Housing Sevices-10(2) , Standing Committee on Information & Cultural Affairs, Sports Youth Services and Sports-10(1), commit & Waterways and Water Investigation Development -8(2), Standing Committee on Labour-11(1), Municipal Af Development-8(2), Standing Committee on Panchayats & Rural Development and Sundarban Affairs-8(2), Power Conventional Energy Sources-9(1), Standing committee on Public Works and Health Engineering-10(2), Committee Classes Welfare-10(1), Standing Committee on Minority Affairs-11(1), Land & Reforms Refugee Relief Technology and Technical Education-10(4), Standing Committee on Self Help Group Employment-8(1) , o & Child Development and Social Welfare Disaster Management-10(2), Standing Committee on Transport-11(2), 6(1) and Standing Committee on Co-operation & Consumer Affairs- 10(2) of Cricket & Hockey in NCT Delhi-1 (t) Committee on Bidhayak Elakaunnayan Prakalpa-8, Papers Laid the Table-8, Affairs of Women and Ch (s) Committee on Reference & Question-1, Financial Administrative Delayed-1, Enquiry of Housing Comp (u) Question & Reference Committee-1(1) and Spl. Inquiry Committee to probe alleged irregularities Corruption in Bodies Admini Appendices 223

APPENDIX IV LIST OF BILLS PASSED BY THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT AND ASSENTED TO BY THE PRESIDENT DURING THE PERIOD 1 JANUARY TO 31 MARCH 2017

Sl. Title of the Bill Date of Assent No. by the President

1. The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2017 15.02.2017 2. The Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill, 2017 27.02.2017 3. The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2017 14.03.2017 4. The Appropriation Bill, 2017 24.03.2017 5. The Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2017 24.03.2017 6. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2017 27.03.2017 7. The Finance Bill, 2017 31.03.2017 8. The Appropriation (Railways) Bill, 2017 31.03.2017 9. The Appropriation (Railways) No. 2 Bill, 2017 31.03.2017 224 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

APPENDIX V LIST OF BILLS PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF THE STATES AND THE UNION TERRITORIES DURING THE PERIOD 1 JANUARY TO 31 MARCH 2017

ARUNACHAL PRADESH 1. The Arunachal Pradesh Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017 2. The Arunachal Pradesh Anatomy Bill, 2017 3. The Arunachal Pradesh Private Education Institutions (Regulatory Commission) Bill, 2017 4. The Arunachal Pradesh Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Bill, 2017 5. The Arunachal Pradesh Appropriation Bill (No.I) 2017 6. The Arunachal Pradesh Appropriation Bill (No.II) 2017

ASSAM 1. The Assam Appropriation (No.I) Bill, 2017 2. The Assam Appropriation (No.III) Bill, 2017 3. The Assam Repealing (No.I) Bill, 2017 4. The Assam Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 5. The Assam Appropriation (No.II) Bill, 2017 6. The Assam Appropriation (No.IV) Bill, 2017 7. The Assam Appropriation (No.V) Bill, 2017 8. The Assam Repealing (No.II) Bill, 2017 9. The Assam Electricity Duty (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2017 10. The Assam Agriculture Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2017 11. The Assam Taxation (Liquidation of Arrear Dues) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 12. The Assam Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2017 13. The Assam Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2017 14. The Bodoland University (Amendment) Bill, 2017 15. The Krishnaguru Adhyatmik Viswa Vidyalaya Bill, 2017 16. The Cotton University Bill, 2017 17. The Missing Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017 18. The Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017 19. The Thengal Kashari Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017 20. The Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017 21. The Deori Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017 22. The Tiwa Autonomous Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017 23. The Assam Public Procurement Bill, 2017 24. The Assam Junior College (Provincialising) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 Appendices 225

25. The Assam State Higher Education Council Bill, 2017 26. The Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Reorganization of Education Institution) Bill, 2017

BIHAR 1. Bihar Viniyog Vidheyak, 2017 2. Bihar Viniyog (Sankhya-2) Vidheyak, 2017 3. Bihar Krishak evam Gramin Kshetra Vikas Agency (Nirsan) Vidheyak, 2017 4. Bihar Vidhan Mandal (Sadasyon ka Vetan, Bhatta aur Pension) (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 5. Bihar Niji Vishwavidyalaya (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 6. Bihar Rajya Vishwavidyalaya (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 7. Patna Vishwavidyalaya (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 8. Bihar Viniyog Adhikai Vyaya (1981-82, 1983-84, 1987-88, 1991-92, 1996-97, 1997- 98, 2003-04, 2005-06 evam 2014-15) Vidheyak, 2017 9. Bihar Jamakartaon ke Hiton ka Sanrakshan (Vittiya Aniyamitataon mein) (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017

CHHATTISGARH 1. Chhattisgarh Kamdhenu Vishwavidyalaya (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 2. Chhattisgarh Viniyog (No.I) Vidheyak, 2017 3. Chhattisgarh Nagar Gram Nivesh (Sanshodhan evam Vidhimanya karan) Vidheyak, 2017 4. Chhattisgarh Viniyog (No.II) Vidheyak, 2017 5. Chhattisgarh Aabkari (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 6. Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 7. Chhattisgarh Rajim Kumbh (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017

GUJARAT 1. The Gujarat Salaries and Allowances of Members, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Ministers and Leader of the Opposition Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017 2. The Gujarat Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2017 3. The Gujarat Panchayats (Amendment) Bill, 2017 4. The Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 5. The Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017 6. The Gujarat Prohibition (Amendment) Bill, 2017 7. The Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2017 8. The Code of Criminal Procedure (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2017 9. The Gujarat Validation of Occupancy and Allotment of Certain Lands of Excess Vacant Land Vested in the State Government [Under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976] Bill, 2017 10. The Gujarat Tribal Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 226 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

11. The Birsa Munda Tribal University Bill, 2017 12. The Gujarat Maritime Board (Amendment) Bill, 2017 13. The Gujarat (Supplementary) Appropriation Bill, 2017 14. The Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 15. The Gujarat Organic Agricultural University Bill, 2017 16. The Gujarat Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2017 17. The Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 18. The Gujarat Panchayats (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 19. The Gujarat Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill, 2017 20. The Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 21. The Gujarat Motor Vehicles Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2017 22. The Gujarat Self Financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Bills, 2017 23. The Gujarat Private Universities (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 24. The Gujarat Appropriation Bill, 2017

HARYANA 1. *The PEPSU Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2017 2. *The Punjab Security of Land Tenures (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2017 3. *The Punjab Land Revenue (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2017 4. *The Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2017 5. The Haryana Appropriation (No.I) Bill, 2017 6. The Haryana Appropriation (No.II) Bill, 2017 7. The Haryana Law Officers (Engagement) Amendment Bill, 2017 8. The Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (Amendment) Bill, 2017 9. *The Haryana Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2017 10. *The Haryana Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 11. The Haryana Road Infrastructure Protection Bill, 2017 12. *The Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2017 13. The Haryana Nurses and Nurse-Midwives Bill, 2017 14. The Haryana Cattle Fairs (Amendment) Bill, 2017 15. The Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2017 16. The Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2017 17. The Haryana Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2017 18. *The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2017

HIMACHAL PRADESH 1. The Himachal Pradesh Appropriation Bill, 2017 2. The Himachal Pradesh Appropriation (No.II) Bill, 2017 3. The Himachal Pradesh Court Fees (Amendment) Bill, 2017

* Bills awaiting assent Appendices 227

4. The Himachal Pradesh Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Amendment Bill, 2017 5. The Himachal Pradesh Early Childhood Care and Education Centres (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2017

JHARKHAND 1. Jharkhand Viniyog (Sankhya-01) Vidheyak, 2017 2. Jharkhand Viniyog (Sankhya-02) Vidheyak, 2017 3. Jharkhand Rajya Alpasankhyak Ayog (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 4. Sarla Birla Vishwavidyalaya Vidheyak, 2017 5. Y. B. N. Vishwavidyalaya Vidheyak, 2017 6. Arka Jain Vishwavidyalaya Vidheyak, 2017 7. Jharkhand Rajya Vishwavidyalaya (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 8. Jharkhand Mulyavardhit Kar (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017

KARNATAKA 1. The Karnataka Advocates’ Welfare Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2017 2. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2017 3. The Karnataka Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017 4. The Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill, 2017 5. The Minimum Wages (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2017 6. The Karnataka Urban Development Authorities (Amendment) Bill, 2016 7. The Institute of Trans Disciplinary Health-Sciences and Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2017 8. The Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 9. The Karnataka Labour Welfare Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2017 10. The Karnataka Samskrita Vishwavidyalaya (Amendment) Bill, 2017 11. The Karnataka Appropriation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 12. The Karnataka Stamp (Amendment) Bill, 2017 13. The Karnataka Motor Vehicle Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 14. The Karnataka Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2017 15. The Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 16. The Karnataka Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2017 17. The Karnataka Appropriation Bill, 2017 18. The Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Teachers) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 19. The Karnataka Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 20. The Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2016 21. The Karnataka Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017

KERALA 1. The Kerala Motor Vehicles Taxation (Validation) Bill, 2016 2. The Kerala State Commission for Minorities (Amendment) Bill, 2017 3. The Kerala Appropriation Bill, 2017 228 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

4. The Kerala Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2017 5. The Industrial Disputes (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2016 6. The Minimum Wages (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2016 7. The Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Worker’s Welfare Fund Bill, 2016 8. The Payment of Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2016

MADHYA PRADESH 1. Madhya Pradesh Nagariya Kshetron ke Bhumiheen Vyakti (Pattadhrit Adhikaron ka Pradan kiya jana) Sanshodhan Vidheyak, 2017 2. Madhya Pradesh Vet Sanshodhan (Vidhimanyakaran) Vidheyak, 2017 3. Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Mandal Sadasya Nirharta Nivaran (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 4. Madhya Pradesh Viniyog Vidheyak, 2017 5. Madhya Pradesh Viniyog (Kramank 2) Vidheyak, 2017 6. Madhya Pradesh Arthik Rup se Kamzor Varg tatha Nimna Aye Varg ko Awas Guarantee Vidheyak, 2017 7. Madhya Pradesh Rajkoshiya Uttardayitva evam Budget Prabandhan (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 8. Madhya Pradesh Adim Janjatiyon ka Sanrakshan (Vrikshon mein Hit) Sanshodhan Vidheyak, 2017 9. Madhya Pradesh Nagar tatha Gram Nivesh (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 10. Madhya Pradesh Vet (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017

MAHARASHTRA 1. The Dr. Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University Bill, 2016 2. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 3. The Maharashtra Village Panchayats and the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis (Amendment) Bill, 2017 4. The Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 5. The Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2017 6. The Maharashtra (Supplementary) Appropriation Bill, 2017 7. The Maharashtra Paramedical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017 8. The Maharashtra Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2017 9. The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2017 10. The Symbiosis Skills and Open University Bill, 2017 11. The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017 12. The Maharashtra Tax Laws (Levy, Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2017 13. The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 14. The Maharashtra Appropriation Bill, 2017 15. The Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2017 16. The Vishwakarma University Bill, 2017 17. The DSK World University Bill, 2017 18. The Sanjay Ghodawat University Bill, 2017 19. The Maharashtra Transport and Roads Safety Bill, 2017 20. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2017 Appendices 229

21. The Maharashtra Agriculture Land Leasing Bill, 2017 22. The Maharashtra Media Persons and Media Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage of Loss Property) Bill, 2017

MANIPUR 1. The Manipur Appropriation (No.1) Bill, 2017 2. The Manipur Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2017

MEGHALAYA 1. The Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social & Audit Bill, 2017 2. The Meghalaya Legislators Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2017 3. The Meghalaya Tax on Luxuries (Hotels and Lodging Houses) Amendment Bill, 2017 4. The University of Technology and Management (Amendment) Bill, 2017 5. The Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya (Members’ Pension) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 6. The Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2017 7. The Meghalaya Appropriation (No.I) Bill, 2017 8. The Meghalaya Appropriation (No.II) Bill, 2017 9. The Contingency Fund of Meghalaya (Amendment) Bill, 2017

NAGALAND 1. The Nagaland Appropriation (No.1) Bill, 2017 2. The Nagaland Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2017 3. The Nagaland Co-operative Societies Bill, 2017 4. The Nagaland Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2017

ODISHA 1. The Odisha Appropriation Bill, 2017 2. The Odisha Appropriation No-2 Bill, 2017

PUNJAB 1. The Punjab Appropriation Bill, 2017 2. The Punjab Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2017 3. The Punjab Law Officers (Engagement) Bill, 2017

RAJASTHAN 1. The Rajasthan Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2017 2. The Nirwan University, Jaipur Bill, 2017 3. The Rajasthan Appropriation (No.1) Bill, 2017 4. The Rajasthan Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2017 5. The Bhartiya Skill Development University, Jaipur Bill, 2017 6. The Rajasthan ILD Skills University, Jaipur Bill, 2017 7. The Rajasthan Finance Bill, 2017 8. * The Rajasthan Homoeopathic Medicine (Amendment) Bill, 2017 9. * The Rajasthan Rent Control (Amendment) Bill, 2017

* Bills awaiting assent 230 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

10. *The Rajasthan State Commission for Backward Classes Bill, 2017 11. *The Rajasthan Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2017 12. *The Rajasthan Municipalities (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 13. *The Rajasthan Municipalities (Third Amendment) Bill, 2017 14. *The Jai Narain Vyas University (Amendment) Bill, 2017 15. *The University of Rajasthan (Amendment) Bill, 2017 16. *The Mohan Lal Sukhadia University (Amendment) Bill, 2017 17. *The Raj Rishi Bhartrihari Matsya University, Alwar (Amendment) Bill, 2017 18. *The Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Bikaner (Amendment) Bill, 2017 19. *The Govind Guru Tribal University, Banswara (Amendment) Bill, 2017 20. *The University of Kota (Amendment) Bill, 2017 21. *The Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Shekhawati University, Sikar (Amendment) Bill, 2017 22. *The Vardhman Mahaveer Open University, Kota (Amendment) Bill, 2017 23. *The Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University (Amendment) Bill, 2017 24. *The Maharaja Surajmal Brij University, Bharatpur (Amendment) Bill, 2017 25. *The Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication, Jaipur (Repeal) Bill, 2017 26. *The Rajasthan Bhamashah (Direct Transfer of Public Welfare Benefits and Delivery of Services) Bill, 2017 27. *The Rajasthan Municipalities (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2017 28. *The University of Technology, Jaipur Bill, 2017 29. *The Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017 30. *The Rajasthan Municipalities (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2017 31. *The Bikaner Technical University Bill, 2017 32. *The Rajasthan Minister’s Salaries (Amendment) Bill, 2017 33. *The Rajasthan Minister’s Salaries (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 34. *The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (Officers and Members Emoluments and Pension) (Amendment) Bill, 2017

SIKKIM 1. The Sikkim University (Amendment) Bill, 2017 2. The Sikkim Appropriation Bill, 2017 3. The Sikkim Appropriation Bill, 2017 4. The Institute of Charted Financial Analysts of India University, Sikkim (Amendment) Bill, 2017 5. The Shri Ramasamy Memorial University Sikkim (Amendment) Bill, 2017 6. The Sikkim Manipal University of Health, Medical and Technological Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2017 7. The Vinayaka Missions Sikkim University (Amendment) Bill, 2017

TAMILNADU 1. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Bill, 2017 2. The Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Amendment) Bill, 2017

* Bills awaiting assent Appendices 231

3. The Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017 4. The Chennai City Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 5. The Tamil Nadu Court-fees and Suits Valuation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 6. The Tamil Nadu Heritage Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2017 7. The Tamil Nadu Admission to MBBS and BDS Courses Bill, 2017 8. The Tamil Nadu Admission to Post Graduate Courses in Medicine and Dentistry Bill, 2017 9. The Tamil Nadu Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2017 10. The Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2017 11. The Tamil Nadu Payment of Subsidies Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2017 12. The Annamalai University (Amendment) Repeal Bill, 2017 13. The Tamil Nadu Appropriation Bill, 2017 14. The Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2017 15. The Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 16. The Tamil Nadu Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2017 17. The Tamil Nadu Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2017 18. The Tamil Nadu Fiscal Responsibility (Amendment) Bill, 2017 19. The Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2017

TELANGANA 1. The Telangana Payment of Salaries and Pension and Removal of Disqualification (Amendment) Bill, 2017 2. The Telangana Bhoodan and Gramdan (Amendment) Bill, 2017 3. The Telangana State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Special Development Fund (Planning, Allocation and Utilization of Financial Resources) Bill, 2017 4. The Telangana Appropriation (No.1) Bill, 2017 5. The Telangana Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2017

UTTARAKHAND 1. * Shri Guru Ram Rai University Bill, 2016 2. * The Quantum University Bill, 2016 3. *The Uttarakhand Nikshepak (Depositor) Conservation of Interests (in Financial Establishments) Bill, 2016 4. * The Uttarakhand Appropriation (Supplementary) Bill, 2017 5. * The Uttarakhand Co-operative Committee (Amendment) Bill, 2017

WEST BENGAL 1. The West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2017 2. The West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Bill, 2017 3. The West Bengal Universities (Control of Expenditure) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 4. The West Bengal Finance Bill, 2017 5. The West Bengal Appropriation Bill, 2017 6. The East Kolkata Wetlands (Conservation and Management) (Amendment) Bill, 2017

* Bills awaiting assent 232 The Journal of Parliamentary Information

7. *The Howrah Improvement (Amendment) Bill, 2017 8. *The West Bengal Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2017 9. *The West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 10. *The West Bengal Schools (Control of Expenditure) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 11. *The West Bengal School Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2017 12. *The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017 13. The West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Bill, 2017 14. *The West Bengal Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2017 15. *The West Bengal Town and Country (Planning and Development) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 16. *The Kolkata Improvement (Repealing) Bill, 2017 17. *The Kolkata Metropolitan Water and Sanitation Authority (Repealing) Bill, 2017 18. *The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 19. *The West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2017 20. *The West Bengal Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2017 21. *The Bengal Legislative Assembly (Member’s Emoluments) (Amendment) Bill, 2017

DELHI 1. The Delhi Appropriation (No.1) Bill, 2017 2. The Delhi Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2017

JOINT/SELECT COMMITTEE Arunachal Pradesh LA - Adhoc Committee - 1

* Bills awaiting assent Appendices 233 House GUJARAT CHHATTISGARH APPENDIX VI UNION GOVERNMENT DURING THE PERIOD 1 JANUARY TO 31 MARCH 2017 ORDINANCES PROMULGATED BY THE UNION AND STATE GOVERNMENTS Adhyadesh, 2017 (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 2016 (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 Fifth Ordinance, 2016 2016 Ordinance, 2016 12 3456 1. Chhattisgarh Aabkari (Sanshodhan) Adhyadesh, 20172. Chhattisgarh Rajim Kumbh Mela (Sanshodhan) -1. - The Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development2. 4.10.2016 - The Gujarat Panchayats (Amendment) Ordinance,3. The Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations 20.2.2017 21.11.2016 - 20.2.2017 20.2.2017 3.12.2016 - 20.2.2017Legislation by Replaced 20.2.2017 -Legislation by Replaced 20.2.2017 - Replaced by Legislation - 1. The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation)2. The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Ordinance, 22.12.20163. The Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) 31.1.2017 28.12.2016 30.12.2016 31.1.2017 - 31.1.2017 - - Replaced by an Act of Parliament Replaced by an Act of Parliament Replaced by an Act of Parliament Sl. Title of Ordinance Date of Date on which Date of Remarks No. Promulgation laid before the Cessation 234 The Journal of Parliamentary Information Pradesh Court Fees (Amendment) Bill, 2017 HARYANA MAHARASHTRA HIMACHAL PRADESH Ordinance, 2017 Ordinance, 2017 Maharashtra Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 Classes (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 Ordinance, 2017 Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development (Haryana Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 of Certain Lands Excess Vacant Land Vested in the State Government (Under Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, 1976) Ordinance, 2016 Speaker and Deputy of Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Ministers and Leader of the Opposition Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 12 3456 1. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation (Amendment)2. The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Amendment) 3.1.20173. 5.1.2017 The Mumbai Municipal Corporation and the 6.3.20174. 6.3.2017 The Maharashtra State Commission for Backward 8.1.2017 18.4.2017 9.1.2017 18.4.2017 6.3.2017 Replaced by Legislation 6.3.2017Legislation by Replaced 18.4.2017 18.4.2017 - Legislation by Replaced 1. The Himachal Pradesh Court Fees (Amendment) 31.1.2017 1.3.2017 - Replaced by “The Himachal 1. The Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled 5.12.2016 27.2.2017 10.3.2017Legislation by Replaced 4. The Gujarat Validation of Occupancy and Allotment 15.12.20165. The Gujarat Prohibition (Amendment) Ordinance, 20166. 20.2.2017 19.12.2016 The Gujarat Salaries and Allowances of Members, 20.2.2017 20.2.2017 20.12.2016 20.2.2017Legislation by Replaced 20.2.2017 20.2.2017Legislation by Replaced Legislation by Replaced Appendices 235 RAJASTHAN TAMIL NADU WEST BENGAL Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 Ordinance, 2016 Ordinance, 2016 Ordinance, 2017 Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 Expenditure) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 9.2.2017 12 3456 5. The Maharashtra Village Panchayats and6. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation, the Maharashtra 2.2.2017 31.1.2017 6.3.2017 6.3.2017 18.4.2017 18.4.2017 - Legislation by Replaced 1. The Rajasthan Commission for Backward Classes2. The Bhartiya Skill Development University Jaipur 21.10.20163. The Rajasthan ILD Skills University Jaipur 23.2.2017 28.12.2016 23.2.20171. - The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu 2.2.2017 - 21.1.20171. The West Bengal Universities (Control of 23.2.2017 23.1.2017 - - - - 25.1.2017 7.2.2017 - Replaced by Legislation - Replaced by a Bill passed on 236 The Journal of Parliamentary Information 43 32 $ APPENDIX VII LOK SABHA (STATE-WISE) (AS ON 31.03.2017) ------6 - - 1 --4------3 ------3 ------5 ------4- 4 ------2 ------2 ------5------2 ------1 ------TH 34 20 18 16 11 9 9 6 6 5 4 4 A. PARTY POSITION IN 16 TOTAL 543 280* 45 37 Haveli Includes one member (Shri Rajesh Ranjan Yadav) who has been expelled from the party with effect 7.5.2015. .ayn 01 - - 1071------1. Andhra Pradesh2. - Arunachal Pradesh - 3. Assam 2 2 254. Bihar 2--5. Chhattisgarh6.Goa - - 2 ---- 17. - Gujarat8.Haryana - 19. - 11 - Himachal Pradesh 14 ------4 - 40 10 7 - 1 - 26 - 22 3 - 4 - 2 - - - 26 ------15 ------8 ------Sl. States No. of BJP INC AIADMK AITC BJD SS TDP TRS CPI(M) YSRCP LJSP NCP SP AAP RJD SAD AIUDF RLSP AD * Excluding Speaker, LS & two nominated members who have joined BJP with effect from 8.12.2015. $ 36. Puducherry 1 - - - - - 10. Jammu & Kashmir11. Jharkhand12. 6 Karnataka13. Kerala14. Madhya Pradesh15. 3 Maharashtra16. 14 29 Manipur -17. 28 Meghalaya18. Mizoram - 1219. 25* 48 Nagaland 20 -20. 3 17 Odisha21. 9 Punjab - -22. 23 2 2 - - Rajasthan -23. 2 Sikkim24. 1 8 Tamil Nadu 1 - -25. - - - - Telangana26. - 21 - Tripura27. 1 - 2 25 Uttarakhand 13 - - - 28. - Uttar Pradesh - 39 - - 129. 1 - West Bengal 1 -30. 25 2 17 A & N Islands - - -31. - 1 - 5 Chandigarh 3 8032. - - 2 Dadra & Nagar - - 1 - - 18 - 42 - 133. - 71 2 - 5 Daman & Diu - - - 34. 37 - 1 2 NCT of Delhi - 1 235. - - - - Lakshadweep - - - 1 - - - 4 - - 1 - - 1 - 20 1 - 7 - - - 1 ------1 - - - - - 7 - - - - 34 ------1 - - 4 - 11 ------1 ------No. Seats Appendices 237 PMK RSP SDF Sw.P IND Total Vacancies APPENDIX VII (Contd.) AIMEIM AINRC CPI JKPDP KC(M) NPF NPP TOTAL 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 539* 3 1. Andhra Pradesh2. - - - Arunachal Pradesh -3. -- Assam - -4. - Bihar5. Chhattisgarh --6.Goa - - -7. --- Gujarat ----2- 8. Haryana -9. - - Himachal Pradesh ------2 ------2 ------2 25 ------1 - - - - 11 14 - - 4 40 - - - - 26 10 - - Sl. States INLD IUML JD(S) JD(U) JMM 36. Puducherry ------1 ------1 - 10. Jammu & Kashmir11. Jharkhand12. - Karnataka13. Kerala14. - Madhya Pradesh15. Maharashtra16. - - Manipur17. - - Meghalaya18. Mizoram -19. - - Nagaland -20. - - Odisha21. - Punjab -22. - - - 1 2 Rajasthan -23. Sikkim24. - - - - Tamil Nadu - - - -25. - - Telangana26. - - Tripura27. 2 ------Uttarakhand - -28. - - Uttar Pradesh -29. - - - West Bengal - - -30. ------A & N Islands31. - - Chandigarh - -32. ------Dadra & Nagar Haveli - - - -33. - - - - - Daman & Diu - - -34. - 1 - - NCT of Delhi - -35. ------Lakshadweep ------1 ------1 ------1 ------1 - - 1 ------1 ------4 ------2 ------1 ------14 - 28* 1 - 2 - - - - 28 ------19 - - 48 ------1 ------2 - - - 2 - - - - - 1 ------1 - - 1 ------21 - - - - - 25 - 13 - - - - - 39 ------1 - - 17 ------5 - - 80 - - 2 - 42 - - - - 1 - - - 1 1 - 1 - - - - - 7 1 - - No. *Excluding Speaker, LS & two nominated members who have joined BJP with effect from 8.12.2015. 238 The Journal of Parliamentary Information dia (Marxist) di Party (SP); s (IND) League (IUML); amool Congress Kashmir Peoples Party (NPP); Pattali n (AIMEIM); All India N.R. Congress (AINRC); Communist Party of India (CPI); Kerala (M) [KC(M)]; Naga Peoples Front (NPF); National Makkal Katchi (PMK); Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP); Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF); Swabhimani Paksha (Sw.P) & Independent Aam Admi Party (AAP); Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD); Shiromani Akali (SAD); All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF); Jammu & Democratic Party (JKPDP); Rashtriya Lok Samta (RLSP); Apna Dal (AD); Indian National (INLD); Union Muslim Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)]; (United) [JD(U)]; Jharkhand Mukhti Morcha (JMM); All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimee [CPI(M)]; Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP); Lok Jan Shakti (LJSP); Nationalist (NCP); Samajwa (AITC); Biju Janata Dal (BJD); Shiv Sena (SS); Telugu Desam Party (TDP); Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS); Communist of In ABBREVIATIONS USED FOR PARTIES: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); Indian National Congress (INC); All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK); Trin Appendices 239 -11- -7 - -16- -4 - -9 - -1 - -7 - -1 - -18- 15 - 16 - 112- 119- (f) (i) (j) (l) (c) (k) (a) (b) (d) (e) (g) (h) (m) B. PARTY POSITION IN RAJYA SABHA (As on 9 May 2017) 1. Andhra Pradesh 11 4 1 ------6 .o 1--- --1- 11------2. Arunachal Pradesh3. Assam4. Bihar5. 1 Chhattisgarh6.Goa 7. 1 Gujarat8. Haryana - 7 5 - 16 6 2 - 11 - 3 - 5 5 2 - - 2 - - 9 1 ------9 ------1 - 2 - 1 - - 1 - 5 - 11 - - 9. Himachal Pradesh 3 2 1 ------3 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Sl. State/Union Territory Seats INC BJP SP AIADMK AITC JD(U) CPI(M) BJD *Others IND. Total Vacancies No. 24. Tamil Nadu 18 - - - 12 - - 1 - 5 11. Jharkhand14. Madhya Pradesh15. Maharashtra 6 11 1 320. 19 Odisha21. 2 Punjab 822. 4 Rajasthan23. - Sikkim - 5 - - - 10 10 7 1 - - - 2 3 1 - 8 - - - 1 ------2 - - - - - 9 - - - - - 11 7 ------3 1 1 - 9 10 1 - 10. Jammu & Kashmir 4 1 1 ------2 12. Karnataka13. Kerala16. Manipur17. Meghalaya18. 12 Mizoram19. Nagaland 6 9 4 3 1 1 - - 1 1 - 1 - - 1 ------1 - - - - - 3 ------1 - - - - 2 - - - - - 1 - - - 1 0 1 - 1 - STATES 240 The Journal of Parliamentary Information -7 - -12- 131- (n) (o) (p) TOTAL 245 59 56 18 13 12 10 8 7 54 6 243 2 (i) NCP-5, SS-3, RPI (A)-1 (j) NPF-1 (l) SDF-1 (f) RJD-1, JMM - 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 (c) RJD-2 (k) SAD-3 (a) TDP-4, TRS-1, YSRCP-1 (b) BPF-1 (d) INLD-1 (e) J&K PDP-2 (g) JD(S)-1 (h) KC(M) - 1, IUML 1 (n) TDP-2, TRS-2 (o) BSP-6 (p) Nominated - 8 25. Telangana 7 3 ------4 * Others (Break-up of Parties/Groups) (m) DMK-4, CPI-1 32. Nominated 12 - 4 ------8 26. Tripura27. Uttarakhand28. Uttar Pradesh 3 31 1 3 3 - 3 - - 18 ------1 - - - 6 - - - - 3 1 - - 29. West BengalUnion Territories 30. NCT of Delhi31. Puducherry 16 1 3 - 1 3 ------12 - 1 - - - 3 ------16 - - - 3 1 - - Appendices 241 260- 14472- 191- 125 243 - 590- - 389- -81- 95723 63 2237678- 2 141160- 22913 - 288 2 860- 1 2 60 - 147 - (r) (a) (b) (c) (d) (f) (g) (h) (k) (m) (n) (o) (p) (q) (e) (i) (j) (l) (M) Dal (U) Dal (S) Parties pendent ------126 257590 60 6 39 - 22 49 ------2 -140 - -230 - 22288 56 - 42 1 - 1 164 122 59 - 28 - 1 - 19 - - 2 - - - 39 41 - 10 4 - 1 - - - 3 - - 29 2 75 C. PARTY POSITION IN THE STATE/ UNION TERRITORY LEGISLATURES ** # ** # # # # # 1 234567891011121314 Information not received from the State/Union Territory Legislature Information as received from State/Union Territory Legislature # ** State/Union Territory Seats INCAndhra Pradesh L.A. BJP CPI CPI NCP BSP Janata Janata Other Inde- Total Vacancies Odisha L.A. 147 16 10 1 - - - - - 118 Andhra Pradesh L.C.**Arunachal Pradesh L.A. - 60 1 - 47 - - - - -Jharkhand L.A. - - - - - 7 - - 43 - - - 1 10 - - 1 - - - - - 29 Assam L.A. Bihar L.A.Bihar L.C. Chhattisgarh L.A. Goa L.A.**Gujarat L.A.Haryana L.A.Himachal Pradesh L.A. 243Jammu & Kashmir L.A. 68 27Jammu & Kashmir L.C. 89 - 36 182 53Karnataka L.A. 90 12Karnataka L.C. 57 27 - -Kerala L.A. 17 26Madhya Pradesh L.A. 121 -Maharashtra L.A. 46 - - 225 1 -Maharashtra L.C. 75 -Manipur L.A. 121 - - -Meghalaya L.A. - - 30 44Mizoram L.A.** - 78 -Nagaland L.A. - - 23 2 - - 20 - 60 60 ------17 71 30 28 60 - 1 ------21 1 ------4 - - - 23 - - 88 ------2 - 47 - 40 21 1 - - - 1 - 13 4 1 9 - - - - - 1 - 67 182 - 1 - 1 - 11 - - - - 10 15 - - 46 - - - 242 The Journal of Parliamentary Information ksha-1, Indian Union Samanta Party - 1, nd Hindustani Aavam -71311 -1 117 200-40- - - 234 1203 1 2991 - 1 403-691 1 294 1 (v) (aa) (s) (u) (w) (x) (y) (z) (bb) (t) 119 19------71 5 11 1 57 1 ------93 - 2 70 - # # ** 1 234567891011121314 Jharkhand Party- 1 and Nav Jawan Sangharksh Morcha - Morcha (Secular)-1 Speaker-1 and Nominated-1 Muslim League-18, Kerala Congress(M)-6 and Congress(Jacob)-1 (i) Badavara Sramikara Raitara Congress Party-3, Karnataka Janatha Paksha-2, Sarvodaya Paksha-1, Makkala Paa (j) Chairman-1 (l) Chairman-1 and Nominated-1 (f) Speaker-1, Indian National Lok Dal-19, and Shiromani Akali Dal-1 (c) Rashtriya Janata Dal-80, Lok Jan Shakti Party-2, Samta Party-2 Communist Party of India(Marxist-Leninist)- 3 a (k) Congress (Secular)-1, Kerala Congress(B)-1, National Secular Conference-1, Communist Marxist Party State Committee-1, (d) Chairman-1, Deputy RJD-7 and LJP-1 (e) Nominated-1 (g) Peoples Democratic Party-29, Natonal Conference-15, Conference-2, and Front-1 (h) Speaker - 1, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 18, Vikas 2, Aajsu Party 4, Marxist Coordination Jai Bharat (a) PPA-10 (b) AGP-14, AIUDF-13 and BPF-12 Puducherry L.A.** ------Punjab L.A. 117 77 3 ------37 Uttarakhand L.A. Uttar Pradesh L.A. 404 7 312 - - - 19 - - 62 Rajasthan L.A.Sikkim L.A.Tamil Nadu L.A.Telangana L.A. Telangana L.C. 200Tripura L.A. 235 24 32 8Uttar Pradesh L.C. 161 40 -West Bengal L.A. - - 8UNION TERRITORIES 100 -Delhi L.A. - 295 - - 1 44 - - - 8 - 3 - - - 2 - 70 26 - - - - 1 - - - - - 3 - - - - - 11 - - - - - 6 - - - - 226 - - 30 - 31 78 - 219 - 66 Appendices 243 ker-1 -6 tra Navnirman 4 mara Aam Dal-1 c Party-4 ominated-1 Sena-1, Samajwadi Party-1, Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh-1, and Rashtriya Samaj Party-1 (t) National Peoples Party-4 and Unionist Zamidara Party-2 (r) B.J.D. -117 and Samatakranti Dal-1 (s) Shiromani Akali Dal-15, Aam Aadmi Party-20 and Lok Insaaf Party-2 (v) All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam-134, Kazhgam-89, Indian Union Muslim League-1, Nominated-1 and Spea (x) Telangana Rashtra Samithi-21, All India Majlis Ittehad-Ul-Muslimeen-2, Progressive Recognised Teachers Union-2 and Nominated (y) Samajwadi Party-47, Apna Dal(Sonelal)-9, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party-4, Rashtriya Lok Dal-1, and Nirbal Indian Shoshit Ha (z) Samajwadi Party-66, Indian National Congress(I)-2, Shikshak Dal (Non-Political)-5, Rastriya Lok Dal-1 and Independent Group- (n) Shivsena-9, Peasants and Workers Party of India-1, People Republican Party-1 (o) National People’s Party-4, Naga Front(NPF)-4, Lok Jan ShaktiParty (LJP)-1 and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)-1 (p) North East Social Democratic Party-1, United Party-8, National People’s Party-2 and Hill State Democrati (q) Naga Peoples Front-46 (u) Sikkim Democratic Front Party-28 and Krantikari Morcha-2 (w) Telangana Rashtra Samithi-82, All India Majlis Ittehad-Ul-Muslimeen-7, Telugu Desam Party-3 and Nominated-1 (m) Shivsena Party-63, Peasant’s and Workers Party-3, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi-3, All India Majalis-A-Ittehadul Muslimin-2, Maharash (aa) All India Trinamool Congress-210, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-3, Forward Bloc-2, Revolutionary Socialist Party-3 and N (bb) Aam Aadmi Party-66 Address by the President to Parliament 1

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